


starry skies and sweet smiles, or alternatively: edgelords are tamed by the power of love and oblivious dorks

by chivalrousamour



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Multi, Non-Binary Byleth, Slice of Life, Slow Burn, Spoilers, author reads too much shoujo manga, blue lions as shippers, claude acts like his schemes are entirely intentional even when they aren't, congratulations edelgard you played yourself, congratulations. youre officially so dumb the fucking GODDESS is yelling at you to kiss, dimitri is trying his best but he was not prepared for any of this, dimitri will learn to chill or so help me, dumb kids kiss, dumbass mutual pining, edelgard kills a man with unintentional flirting, goose - Freeform, hilda manages to manic pixie dream girl through the power of laziness, i said 'fuck canon we are going full romcom shoujo' and here we are, this may be a school but no one knows anything
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-30
Updated: 2019-11-13
Packaged: 2020-11-01 06:13:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 55
Words: 81,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20810399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chivalrousamour/pseuds/chivalrousamour
Summary: "Flowers have tons of uses!” Hilda exclaimed happily. “It’s just that you’re so focused on fighting and ruling and studying that you never take the time to appreciate them!”Dimitri paused to think.“Then, if I were to stop and appreciate the things around me (life) more… perhaps my burden (desire for vengeance) would be lifted…” he muttered.“Well, maybe your burden (royal duties) would never be completely lifted, but taking time to heal (relax) will help you, you know? Everyone needs that sense of peace (to relax from stress).”“But, if I were to grow too accustomed to peace (happiness), would I not be neglecting my duties (to get revenge)?”“Hmm, well, your duties are important and all, but you always gotta keep yourself in mind,” Hilda told him. “Forgetting (to take care of) yourself is dangerous, you know? There are so many scary consequences (losing sleep, stress, etc)...!”Dimitri’s gaze went to a far-off place, as he sometimes did with Hilda.“Yes… I must never forget myself (lose sight of who I am), for the consequences (of descending into bloodlust) are far too great…”(Hilda and Dimitri build a friendship and more on the solid foundation of misunderstandings.)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> long story short, this started as noticing that claude/edelgard was the only one of the three lord ships that wasnt super popular and thus an attempt to ship them. and then dimitri was alone, so someone had to date him, and for fun it was hilda, but then they exploded and decided to take over the entire fic

If asked, most people would blame Claude. If Claude were the one being asked, he would blame Byleth for giving him the idea. But, things such as assigning blame were meaningless in the grand scheme of love, right?

Of course, it didn’t start out as an attempt at matchmaking. It came when a particular set of phrases in one of the new professor’s lectures just happened to stick out to Claude in the midst of a mundane Monday midday lesson.

_ ‘Surveillance isn’t just sneaking around in the shadows. Sometimes, surveillance is heading down to the pub and paying a few drunkards to cough up what they know… or, perhaps, hiding yourself amongst them to see it with your own eyes.’ _

The professor immediately added that it required some degree of acting, or, in the place of genuine acting skills, being an actual drunkard.

Claude, being the shrewd guy he was, immediately picked up on the implications.

Sometimes, the best way to spy was to hide in plain sight. And what better what to hide than to act as you always had?

Giddy at the new prospect, Claude began to scheme.

First, as was necessary for many plans, was a test run, just to iron out the kinks.

With a tiny, _ tiny _ bit of manipulation, truth-twisting, and feline persuasion, he set in place a series of events that led Hilda to be stuck weeding the monastery by herself.

More specifically, the grass near the Blue Lions classroom.

Claude’s reasons were entirely pragmatic. Put short, he had a feeling Hubert would instantly murder them for going near Edelgard. For justifiable reasons.

So the Blue Lions were their best bet for a trial run of surveillance!

Hilda, despite complaining, was actually up for it, despite complaining about the work involved.

Loudly.

Loud enough that Dimitri came out of the classroom to see who was making all those groaning sounds.

“Are you alright? I heard some pained noises…” he asked, in the most chivalrous of ways.

“Oh, your highness!” Hilda exclaimed, putting on a bright smile. “It’s nothing! I’m just weeding the grounds! Doing my part!”

“Is that so? Then, why have you stayed right by the doors for so long, and made all that noise?” Dimitri asked. Not even in an accusatory manner, he was just genuinely confused.

“Well, I’m terribly weak,” Hilda said, improvising her ass off. “When I went along with that mission to subdue those bandits, I got injured! I really am too delicate to trust with these things!”

Now, Hilda meant this in an exaggerated attempt to excuse her laziness, but Dimitri was in a different class. He didn’t know her well enough to think she was just being lazy.

Instead, he came to a different conclusion.

“Say no such things about yourself!” Dimitri exclaimed. “Receiving an injury in battle does not mean that you are weak! Rather, is it not that you are strong enough to be hurt and continue going on?”

“Um, I…”

“If you require aid, I will gladly help you,” Dimitri offered. “So please, don’t degrade yourself!”

Hilda was fairly certain Dimitri had misunderstood, but also, he was offering to help.

So, quite naturally, she tried to convince him to do all the work.

“Is your injury really so severe?” Dimitri asked in concern. “Should I escort you to the sickbay? There might be some clerics that can look you over—”

“N-no, it’s fine! It’s… just some aching! You know, muscle ... fatigue?” Hilda attempted. “I’m just worried about… overexerting myself! Ruining my axe arm! Gotta take care of your body, right?!”

“Yes, that’s right!”

Hilda privately snickered to herself, delighted to have found such a great (naive) guy to help her out (do everything for her).

“But, should you grow accustomed to overcompensating for your injury, it will only lead to you having a more difficult time recovering. Please, even if you must go slowly, I must ask that you try.”

“...”

Dimitri looked at Hilda expectantly.

She awkwardly shuffled over and pulled one weed.

“Delightful! Now, onto the next one!”

“Hold on, don’t rush me! Let’s take our time, nice and slow…!”

Dimitri nodded, thinking she was a cautious person.

“Really, why are you doing this alone in the first place?” he asked.

“Well, the person who was supposed to help me had something come up,” Hilda said. It was technically true. Ish.

“And you decided to work anyways…?”

“Well, I had to (since I wanted to spy too).”

“Your dedication is astounding.”

Hilda let out an awkward laugh, because she didn’t want to disappoint the guy by telling him the truth.

“Enough about me, let’s talk about you!” Hilda exclaimed. “I mean, your kindness is even more astounding, you know? The prince of the Kingdom is such a nice guy that he helps a girl he doesn’t even know without thinking, and even tries to make her feel better about herself (even if you completely misunderstood)! Isn’t that incredible?! You’re like a knight from a fairytale!”

“No, it’s alright. Anyone would do what I did.”

“No they wouldn’t,” Hilda countered immediately. “Half the people in my house would not do what you did.”

“Huh?”

“I mean, Claude would help, sure, but he would tease you the whole time and try to use it as a favour over you later! And Lysithea would scold you for being so inefficient before saying she ought to do it all herself! And then Lorenz…!!”

Dimitri was transfixed by how energetic she became while talking about her friends. Even as she was complaining, he could undoubtedly feel the affection behind her words…

With a slight smile, he helped her work, but, since she was so worked up, she didn’t even notice how she was doing most of the work.

* * *

“What do you mean, it ended with you _ giving him information?" _Claude asked incredulously. “That is literally the opposite of what spying is supposed to do.”

“It’s not my fault he’s like a puppy who immediately tries to help their human,” Hilda stated.

“...okay, I guess this was a bust,” Claude said, sighing. “Aw well. I still got plenty of other plans.”

Unbeknownst to Claude, the plan he thought was a failure was actually one of his most successful ones. He just didn’t know it yet, and he wouldn’t find out until much later.


	2. Chapter 2

The next time they met, it's not by some grand sweeping scheme, by either Claude's hand or the goddess'. Really, it's pretty much expected that, as students of the same school, they would pass by each other or run into each other sometimes. 

Especially considering that people tended to use the training hall. In particular, people who actually took their training seriously...

And, well, even if Hilda wasn't one of said people, she had the duty of sorting out the weapons. Urgh. 

Of course she planned on slacking off. Forget that she was only assigned the duty alone as a punishment for being lazy! Laziness was eternal!

So, when Hilda spotted Dimitri, hacking away at a straw dummy, she saw him as her saving grace! He was so earnest and willing to help last time, so why not try her hand again? Couldn't hurt to ask!

Eyeing Dedue in the corner warily, Hilda planned out her move. She _could_ go the "oh no, I'm injured" route again, but after a week, he might say that she had already recovered enough to do it on her own...

"Your highness, it seems that she's staring at you..."

"Hm?"

Oh, but he didn't think much of the delicate flower act, either! He might give her another pep talk, and then persisting would just break his little puppy heart...!

"Excuse me, are you alright?"

"GAH!" Hilda screamed, stunned by Dimitri suddenly being in her face. "Yup! Yup, uh, totally fine! Yeah!"

"Are you sure?" Dimitri asked.

"Oh, yeah! I was just... you know, impressed!" Hilda lied, putting on an awkward smile. "You were working so hard! It was impressive! I could never do what you do (put so much effort into training), you know!"

"Nonsense, anyone could (achieve results through hard work)!" Dimitri reassured her.

"Ah, you're so optimistic..." Hilda said, not even sure whether she was praising him or complaining.

Dimitri took this as another sign that she was being insecure and unsure of her own effort.

"If you aren't too busy, would you like to train with me?"

Dimitri intended this as a genuine, sincere attempt to show her that she was capable of greatness.

Hilda, however, saw this as the perfect opportunity she was hoping for!

"If you don't mind... I won't take up too much of your time," she said demurely. "Just one sparring match."

Her plan was simple. 

She would lose to Dimitri, claim that her injuries prevented her from helping maintain the weapons, and then, she could genuinely convince Dimitri she was a weakling! Then, he would stop trying to convince her she was something greater! It was a plan on par with any of Claude's!

Unfortunately, Hilda hadn't realized something that would ruin all of her plans.

For one thing, Dimitri was freakishly strong. Insanely, weirdly, terribly strong. Strong enough that he could shatter a sword if he tried too hard.

This wasn't the thing that ruined everything.

The thing that ruined everything was the fact that Dimitri had taught himself to uh, _not_ completely destroy people's skulls during a sparring match?

This was a problem, because it meant Dimitri was holding back during the sparring match.

While blocking her wide axe swings with the hilt of his training spear, while stabbing at her, while charging forward, he was holding back.

And he couldn't very well kick Hilda's ass while holding back, now could he?

Hilda needed him to fight with everything he had! _For the sake of slacking off!_

Swinging at him wildly, Hilda knew what she had to do!

Dimitri jabbed at her, catching the axe by handle. He flicked his wrist, sending her weapon flying through the air!

"Now, let's--"

Hilda didn't get to hear what he was going to say after that, because, just then, she moved.

To punch him in the face.

The rationale here was, well, they were trained in weaponry. Not many were trained in unarmed combat, therefore, forcing Dimitri to use unarmed combat would make him more likely to abandon strategy and just, you know, punch her really hard.

There was another problem, though.

Hilda didn't realize it, but she was freakishly strong.

She thought that Dimitri would be able to shrug off a punch from her easily, leading to the scene where he dropped his spear and kicked her ass.

But, what really happened was this: 

Dimitri raised his other arm to block the strike, the punch hitting him in the forearm.

And then Dedue came in and separated them while silently furious.

"Hey, what gives?! The fight isn't over until someone (ideally me) is on the ground!" Hilda protested.

"His highness' arm is broken," Dedue shot back, glaring.

"It is?" Hilda asked.

"It is?" Dimitri echoed.

Dedue looked something akin to an unholy fusion of baffled, exasperated, and concerned as he wordlessly gestured to Dimitri's arm.

"...hey, um, was your arm always like that?" Hilda asked quietly.

"I do not recall that to be the case," Dimitri said as they both stared at his arm.

Dedue took in a deep breath.

"Your highness. Please rest. I will call for a healer immediately."

Then, he turned towards Hilda.

Hilda paled at the furious expression on his face.

"Leave at once," he ordered, "before I am forced to repay the favour twofold."

Hilda didn't need to hear it twice.

Scurrying away, she left before Dimitri could even ask her to wait.

Hilda managed to get out of maintaining the weapons, but... she didn't want it to be like this...!

She felt horrible that her attempt at slacking off led to _that...!_

She had to make it up to him. She wouldn't be able to live with herself if she didn't.

Making up her mind, Hilda swore to do whatever it took to repay Dimitri!

* * *

Dimitri made his way back to his room, successfully healed.

His arm was a bit sore, but he was rather alright overall. He didn't see why Dedue made such a big deal out of it. He hoped he didn't scare that girl off...

When he opened the door, he found a letter slid underneath the crack.

_'Dear Dimitri,_

_I am SO sorry for breaking your arm! I really, really didn't mean to!_

_If there's anything I can do to help you while you're recovering, just say the word, okay?_

_I'll bring some pain-killing potions for you as soon as I can!_

_Hilda'_

Dimitri couldn't really understand the paper. He held it in his hand, sure, felt the paper against his skin, smelled the scent of ink, saw the 'i's dotted with hearts and all, but it seemed to him that everyone was exaggerating the whole thing a lot.

But still...

"Hilda... so that's your name," he muttered to himself, looking over to his desk. "Well, it wouldn't do to not leave a reply..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS IS THE BEST WAY TO KICK OFF A FRIENDSHIP


	3. Chapter 3

_Dear Hilda,_

_Please do not worry for my sake. _

_I have healed perfectly. Should be ready to get back to training in one or two days, nothing to worry about._

_You don't have to help me with anything, though I would appreciate the potions._

_Dimitri_

* * *

_Dear Dimitri,_

_No. I am going to make it up to you, whether you like it or not._

_P.S. Take a spoonful every morning. I included some sweets since the medicine tastes really gross._

_Hilda_

* * *

_Dear Hilda,_

_You really don't have to. Don't feel obligated to._

_P.S. Thank you for the potions, by the way. They're very helpful._

_Dimitri_

* * *

_Dear Dimitri, _

_Yes, I do have to! Because I feel really, really bad about it! No protesting!_

_P.S. Glad they helped. I got more where that came from if you run out._

_Hilda_

* * *

_Dear Hilda,_

_If you insist... I'll tell Dedue he can stop being so wary of you._

_P.S. No, that's alright. One bottle is enough._

_Dimitri_

* * *

_Dear Dimitri, _

_Great! I'll be helping you out then!_

_See you tomorrow!_

_Hilda_

* * *

"Um, wait a moment," Hilda called out.

"Are you uncomfortable?" Dimitri asked, quill pausing against parchment.

The two of them were in the library, seated opposite each other at one of the tables. Dimitri was finishing up a report due in one of his classes.

Hilda, however, was doing nothing. Which was a problem, for once.

"No, but, seriously, do you really need someone to watch over you as you work? Isn't that just an excuse for me to stand around and look pretty?"

"Well, Dedue is absent, so I felt lonely."

That was when Hilda snapped.

"Absent?!" she echoed incredulously, smacking the table in a burst of anger. The table shuddered...

"He's been watching from behind that pillar the entire time!" Hilda screamed as she pointed in the direction of someone badly hiding behind a pillar. "And besides, _'I felt lonely'_?! Can't you at least come up with a better lie?! Something like _'Oh, since Dedue is busy watering the plants, I need someone else to protect me from assassination!'_"

"Hilda—"

"It's completely obvious that you're just humouring me! When you were feeding the horses, my job was to pat their faces, when you were carrying ingredients to the kitchen, you gave me two oranges to carry, when you were cleaning your room, all I did was dust one shelf!"

"Please settle down—"

"No! Because I _told you_, I feel _really bad_ about accidentally hurting you!" Hilda exclaimed. "I want to make it up to you! So _please_, just _take me seriously—!"_

"Excuse me," Tomas cut in. "You are aware that this is a library, right?"

"Aw crap," Hilda said simply.

And then she got kicked out of the library.

Dimitri followed after her, his report safely entrusted to Dedue.

"Are you quite alright?" Dimitri asked, before getting an idea. "If it helps, I've also been asked to sort the weapons. We could do that if you wish."

Now, what Hilda didn't know was that Dimitri had been deliberately taking on more and more tasks to satisfy her. However, Dimitri felt bad asking her to do a lot when he was perfectly capable of doing the task himself, so he got her to do the bare minimum.

So, Hilda legitimately thought that Dimitri was an insane workaholic who didn't know restraint.

"Forget it! You need a break!" Hilda declared. "There's nothing better than a break after doing something!"

"Huh?"

"Oh, we could go shopping, or take a nap on the grass somewhere... or make something... or go out to eat..." Hilda then paused, realizing that all of those were things she liked to do. "Hey, Dimitri. What do you want to do?"

Her calling him by his first name was more of a slip-up than anything. Being in the same house as Claude meant that she was pretty used to being relaxed with formalities and titles, so she often had to remind herself that people from other houses sort of expected her to use those.

It was a good thing that, when she slipped up, it was when she was with the guy who didn't want his classmates to treat him like royalty, but couldn't quite get any of them to do it.

"I, I'm alright with whatever you prefer," he answered, too stunned by Hilda calling him by his name to put too much thought into whatever he was saying.

"Great! Let's go!"

Smiling, Hilda began to lead him away from the library.

"Hey, did you eat lunch yet?"

"Er, no..."

"Then let's stop by a restaurant in town!"

Dimitri paused to process what she was saying, then smiled.

"Alright. Let's go."

Hilda's smile turned even brighter.

"I mean, I know the dining hall is great and all," she said as they descended the stairs, "but sometimes, you need to explore! Have fun! All sorts of stuff!"

"Is that so?" Dimitri asked.

A group of passersby in the corridor led to them sticking a bit closer together as they walked.

"Yeah, it is so!" Hilda answered. "You only have one life, so you can't just spend it all working! You have to have fun sometimes, you know!"

Dimitri stayed silent, thinking of how selfish it would be to do something like that.

That silence worried Hilda, so she paused a bit before opening the reception hall's doors. 

"You really do have to remember your limits," Hilda said. "Or you'll destroy yourself."

Now, she _meant_ this in a "don't overexert yourself" sort of way.

However, Dimitri had been thinking of revenge. So her words came off as an ominous, almost prophetic warning about his future.

Before he could ask what she meant and possibly clear up the misunderstanding, Hilda opened the door. The noise of the crowded reception hall completely destroyed his chance to ask.

"Hey, what do you think of the new professor?" Hilda asked suddenly, her expression back to an easy smile. 

"Huh? Professor Byleth?" Dimitri asked.

"Yep! We've only had a few classes together, but they seem pretty interesting, right?"

"Yes, they do," Dimitri said.

"I didn't expect a mercenary to make a good teacher, but unexpectedly, they're good at commanding attention, huh?"

"They do have a commanding aura. It's admirable."

"What's really incredible is their aim. Whenever someone seemed distracted, they would break off a piece of chalk and throw it right at their desk. I think my desk is permanently chalky now."

"I'm suddenly worried for my class... will we be alright?"

"No, no, as long as you're not nodding off, it should be fine, probably."

"...probably?"

Now, they were walking through the reception hall at the time. Even though they were absorbed in their conversation, the other people were still there.

People such as Dimitri's childhood friends? 

Which totally wasn't a thing that could end badly ever. Shush.

Anyways, by the time Hilda and Dimitri actually reached town, their conversation had went from discussing who in their classes was most likely to get chalked to who would stand the most chance of _blocking_ a chalk ("Ingrid has very fast reflexes..."), which then got derailed into a conversation about things they admired about their classmates ("Marianne won't ever admit it, but she's plenty devoted. I just wish she knew that none of us would hate her for anything..."), to uh, fashion. 

The reason was, well, in the middle of asking if the Annette in Dimitri's class was the same redhead who set the kitchen on fire with Professor Byleth, Hilda got distracted by a passing man's outfit. 

Dimitri didn't get what was so bad about it, which got Hilda into a whole tirade about how colours needed to work together ("and bright orange _doesn't _work with _that_ green!") and how accents needed to not be eye-searingly ugly.

Hilda was in the middle of explaining just how she could improve the ensemble, when she stopped herself.

"Ah... sorry! I just kinda got worked up over nothing. I make accessories as a hobby, so..." she trailed off, embarrassed.

"Do not worry about it," Dimitri said simply. "It was fun."

Hilda paused, staring at him as they kept walking.

Then, lips curling into a smile, she said, "thanks."

* * *

"Ingrid! I have big news!" Ashe announced, rushing into the hall.

"Ashe! I've been waiting to tell you some news too!" Ingrid replied, happily going over to him.

Felix stared at them flatly, while Sylvain seemed to find this amusing.

"Okay, okay, you go first!" Ashe said.

"Alright, so I was sitting with Sylvain and Felix in here, when we saw his highness talking casually with a girl from the Golden Deer!"

Ashe gasped.

"With pink hair?!"

"Yeah! How did you know?!" Ingrid demanded.

"Because I was with Annette and Mercedes, grabbing crêpes from this store in town, when we saw his highness and this girl from another class leaving the food place next door!"

"No way!"

"She was complaining that he paid for the food while she was distracted, so she has to pay for one of his meals one day to make up for it!"

"I'm so proud of him...! He might actually get a date! As his childhood friend, I need to support him!" Ingrid declared.

"I'll help you out!" Ashe added.

"Oh bother," Felix said irritably.

"Don't talk like you won't let yourself get dragged into it," Sylvain said bluntly.

"Shut up."


	4. Chapter 4

The birds were singing, the sun was shining, and Ingrid and Ashe were completely and totally at a fucking loss.

"You know his highness well enough..." Ashe started off, hunched over with his elbows to his knees on the courtyard bench.

"But that girl... we don't know anything about her," Ingrid finished off with a sigh next to him.

"Are we really going to be defeated here?" Ashe asked. "Before we even try?"

"What are we supposed to do? It's strange to approach her so abruptly, and we can't just say 'we want you to romance his highness', right?"

"Ah... if only there were someone we could ask for help with this kind of strange scheme..." Ashe said wistfully.

"Hey there," Claude said, showing up out of nowhere. Ashe screamed at the sudden scare, making Claude smirk. "It seems like you're doing something interesting. Mind if I join in?"

* * *

"Wow, it seems like we've been running into each other a lot recently, huh?" Hilda noted with a smile.

"It seems so," Dimitri replied.

She had been walking by the hedges near the tea tables, when she heard rustling in the leaves. When she saw the blond head poke out, she thought it was a pervert, only for it to be Dimitri. He was just stuck in the bushes.

"Need a hand?"

"It would be much appreciated," Dimitri said.

Hilda pulled him out, asking, "what did you get yourself into this time?"

"Well, a classmate of mine needed help catching a cat that had stolen something important from him..." Dimitri answered.

"And two days ago, it was a girl who needed help sorting the shelves, and last Thursday, a guy who was looking for the extra arrows, and before that, someone who lost a shirt in the wind..." Hilda said, before adding, "you really are a nice person, you know?"

"No, anyone would try to help out if they were asked," Dimitri replied.

"Too humble, too."

Now, Dimitri hadn't explained to Hilda that it was Ashe and Ingrid every time, because if he had, she would have gotten worried he was being taken advantage of. Instead, Hilda thought it was a different person each time. She had developed the impression that Dimitri was so well-known for his kindness that everyone in his class asked him for help.

And, combined with her previous theory that he was an insane workaholic prince who didn't know restraint...

Well, he kind of reminded her of a loyal puppy doing his best to please everyone, but more than that, he came off as a guy in _desperate_ need of a break.

So, each time she ran into him, she took it upon herself to give him one.

"I'll help you out, so in exchange, spend some time with me?"

Those were the magic words she had come up with to get him to agree with anything she offered.

Dimitri didn't seem like the type to like abandoning something he was asked to do just to hang out, so instead of just asking him to flat-out stop, Hilda tried to lighten his load before helping him completely destress. That way, it wasn't too draining on either of them, and then she could even slack off with a friend! 

Dimitri, however, thought that these words, combined with her preoccupation on repaying him for his arm, were a nagging reminder of his mission to repay blood with more blood...

"What do you have in mind this time?" 

Hilda paused.

They had already went out in town so many times, it was sort of getting stale... and she was running out of easy conversation topics like assignments and Professor Byleth doing weird things and classmate gossip.

"Ah, screw it," she muttered to herself, before raising her voice to address him, "let's just figure it out when we get there, okay?"

"Alright."

Hilda and Dimitri went off, looking for the cat in question.

"Hey, what kind of cat is it?" Hilda asked.

"Grey, with a white underbelly and darker spots. It should have a ghost-repelling charm with it."

"Oh, so like that cat with a necklace Professor Byleth is holding over there," Hilda said, pointing.

"Yes, like that cat— Wait."

"Ah! Professor!" Hilda tried to call out, right before Byleth rounded the corner of the hedges.

"After them!" Dimitri ordered.

"Aye-aye, captain!"

Dimitri rushed after the professor, Hilda following behind him, but, when they turned the corner...

"Huh?! Where did they go?! It's like they disappeared into thin air!" Hilda gasped in awe.

"You there!" Dimitri demanded, pointing at a passing knight. "Did you see where the professor went?!"

"I'd say near the dining hall," the knight replied. "They said something to themselves about eating lunch with some students, but, in all honesty, they moved so fast it seemed like they just up and disappeared..."

* * *

"The new professor?" Caspar repeated, confused in the dining hall. "Yeah, they just left. Got me and Linhardt a great meal and then went off the the greenhouse or something, I think."

* * *

"Professor Byleth?" The gardener paused. "They went to answer confessional letters in the chapel."

* * *

"They went to help their father with something, I think."

* * *

"Weren't they in the training hall?"

* * *

"I saw them just now, fishing up the entire _lake_—"

* * *

"They—"

* * *

"-just—"

* * *

"—_left_!"

* * *

Hilda and Dimitri were left panting in the courtyard by the end of their chase.

"How... how can anyone... move _that..._fast...?" Hilda asked in fear.

"Professor Byleth... _is... _human... right...?"

Completely exhausted, Hilda flopped onto the grass without a care in the world.

Dimitri crouched down by her side to rouse her, when a cat appeared to crawl over Hilda's chest.

Grey, with a white underbelly and darker spots. Held between teeth was a charm hanging from a thin chain. 

Dimitri paused at the sight.

"Hey there, little guy," Hilda greeted the cat happily, patting his head with a smile. "Whatcha got there?"

The cat purred, nuzzling into Hilda's palm. 

"To think, he'd show up right when we stopped for breath..." Dimitri said, sitting down next to Hilda. 

"Must have had a fun time leading us around with the professor, huh?" Hilda asked, giving the little fluffball more attention and pets. Then, she addressed a question to Dimitri, "hey, does this mean the professor is like a cat?"

"I can see it," Dimitri admitted. "Elusive, aloof, distant..."

"And loves fish, apparently."

"I'd hate to see what they'd do to the competition in a fishing tournament."

Hilda laughed in response, her hands going to her face for a brief moment.

The cat decided that this was extremely unacceptable, and headbutted her in the chin to get more love.

"Hey!" Hilda cried out in response.

Her answer was a meow, causing the necklace to fall from the cat's mouth and onto Hilda. But, the movement of her arms as she pet caused the necklace to slide off her body and onto the grass.

"The cats at the monastery seem rather spoiled," Dimitri noted, picking up the necklace and tucking it in his pocket to return later.

"Yep," Hilda agreed. "They sit around doing nothing, get gifts and affection, and never have to worry about anything. Isn't that amazing? (I want to be just like that.)"

"Yes, it's amazing (that they can grow up without worrying about hunger or cold.)"

"Ha, I never would've expected it, but we're unexpectedly alike in the kind of goals we set, huh?" Hilda asked.

Dimitri thought that Hilda was implying that she also wanted to end inequalities that led to poor people starving and freezing to death, and nodded. Not that Hilda was opposed to the idea, it was just not at all what she was saying.

So Hilda, thinking that Dimitri was lowering his walls and exposing his vulnerabilities, that he was quietly admitting that, sometimes, _sometimes, _he _did_ actually want to relax...

Well, she couldn't resist the urge to help him!

Scooping up the tiny cat in her hands, she sat up.

"Wanna pet him, Dimitri?" she asked, holding the kitty out to him. The cat looked around, enjoying being held.

"Huh?"

"Pat the cat. You wanna?"

"W-wait, would I be able to? Without hurting him?"

"What are you talking about?" Hilda asked. "You just have to be gentle and careful, right?"

"But, I'm not very good at controlling my strength..." Dimitri admitted. "It's rather embarrassing..."

Hilda interpreted this as _'I have never pet a cat successfully before and I am terrified of screwing it up. Please help me.'_

So, Hilda decided to demonstrate.

Hilda patted Dimitri on the head with one hand, the other devoted to the cat.

"U-um...!?"

"Focus on how it feels, okay?" Hilda instructed him. "You should try and use about this much strength."

Dimitri's cheeks reddened as he focused on her touch. Her warm hand eventually stopped and returned to her side, so Dimitri knew that it was time.

Cautiously, Dimitri lifted up his hand. Hilda smiled at the sight.

Slowly... carefully... Dimitri patted the cat on the head.

He retreated instantly, trying to verify that he didn't leave any bruises or anything.

Hilda had no idea that he once dislocated Sylvain's shoulder by clapping him on the back too hard once, and thus took this caution as a bit over-the-top, but still kind of cute, awkward, and endearing.

"Good job!" she said earnestly. "You did great!"

"It's nothing to be praised for, really..."

Hilda laughed.

"Then, wanna practice on me or something? I love getting head pats!"

"No, that's q-quite alright!" Dimitri exclaimed.

He could have sworn that both Hilda and that cat were laughing at him.

But even so, it felt...

...fun?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guess what??? THE AMAZING BLAMEDORANGE DREW FANART OF THIS SCENE CHECK IT OUT HERE  
<https://blamedorange.tumblr.com/post/188493329808/but-im-not-very-good-at-controlling-my>


	5. Chapter 5

With a loud yawn, Hilda locked her bedroom door behind her as she went into the hallway.

She absolutely didn't want to go to class...

"Oh! Hilda!"

The voice behind her made her pause and turn.

"Good morning," Dimitri greeted her with a smile. 

"Morning!" Hilda replied, grinning. "Wanna walk to class together?"

"Of course," Dimitri said, and they fell into step alongside each other.

"Having everything so close to each other is really convenient~! You can get to class in minutes no matter how late you wake up!" Hilda exclaimed happily.

"Do you often wake up late?" Dimitri asked.

"No," Hilda said, like a lying liar who lied. "Do you?"

"No, I do my best to be punctual," Dimitri said.

"Heh, you're so responsible!" Hilda exclaimed. 

For a brief second, she remembered how she was practically the exact opposite.

The thought made her glance over at Dimitri, wondering how others would see them. The lazy girl and hard-working prince, huh?

_'So tall...' _Hilda noted as they descended the stairs.

"Hey, what's your class's mission this month?" Hilda asked. 

"We've been assigned to protect a group of merchants," Dimitri answered. "We'll be escorting them to a nearby village to sell their wares."

"On horses and stuff?" Hilda asked.

Dimitri nodded.

"And your class?"

"Patrolling the town," Hilda replied. "I think it's to protect it from bandits? But, it's not like a bandit attack happens every day..."

"Even so, it never hurts to be cautious."

"Yeah, I guess so," Hilda said. "But still..."

Hilda didn't get to say it before they made it to their classrooms. The pair stopped before the doors.

"Well, see you later," Hilda said with a smile.

"Yes, have a nice time in class."

"You mind lowering your standards a bit? Just a little? Please?"

Dimitri laughed, and Hilda laughed with him before they went their separate ways.


	6. Chapter 6

In the dining hall, a table was lined with steak, ribs, and various other meals, prepared not by the staff, but by a pair of students.

"Wow...! You're really just handing these out?!" Raphael gasped at the mouthwatering sight.

Mercedes smiled up at him, Dedue standing by her side with an impassive expression.

"Well, Dedue was kind enough to help me cook, but there were a lot leftover that we couldn't finish... would you like some?"

"Don't mind if I do!"

Hilda eyed them from her seat. She had been spotted by Dimitri while moving to sit, and after their initial greetings, it just felt natural to settle into the seat across from him.

"Huh, is that where Dedue was these past few days?" Hilda asked. "It was a real shock to me when I didn't feel him staring at the two of us."

"Yes, well, Mercedes suddenly got the idea of making meat pie from someone, and Dedue simply had to stop her from sticking ribs in a pie crust... apparently, they got carried away."

"Oh, yeah, was this right after the mock battle? 'cause, after we got beaten up by the Black Eagles, Raphael went into town to grab some comfort food, and came back raving about this place's meat pies to anyone who would listen."

"Is that so...? Maybe they had a chat about it, then."

"Yep, I can totally see Claude tricking Raphael into talking to Mercedes just to get him off his back..." Hilda said, nodding to herself as she grinned. "All mysterious and scheme-y..."

"How about we settle on _'persuasive'_, okay?" Claude asked from behind Hilda.

"Yeah, okay, but scheming is fine, right?" Hilda asked.

"Of course!"

Dimitri decided not to question Claude just appearing from nowhere.

"Hello there, Claude," Dimitri greeted.

"Hey, princely pal!" Claude replied in turn, casually sliding into the chair beside Hilda. "It's fancy seeing you here! I didn't know you were quite so friendly with our little diva here."

"Diva? You should have said princess," Hilda replied.

"You're right, you're right! You are clearly a princess of the holy kingdom of laziness!"

"Did you have a reason for coming here, Claude?" Dimitri asked bluntly.

"Of course I do! I'm here to check on my friend, right, Hilda?" 

Hilda rolled her eyes. "He's either here to bug us or to scheme. Or both, really."

"Ouch, you have no faith in me!" Claude said exaggeratedly.

"Does your track record show a reason to have much faith in you?" Dimitri asked bluntly.

"Hmm, now that I think about it, Claude's track record of schemes... hey, it goes without saying, right?" Hilda asked in return, sending Dimitri a bright smile.

"Yes, I do believe so," Dimitri agreed.

Claude burst out laughing in response to their teasing. Hilda wound up snickering behind the back of her hand as she tried not to accidentally stab herself with her cutlery. Dimitri was smiling a bit more as well.

"Well, feel free to visit the Golden Deer classroom whenever you want, alright?" Claude offered with a smile. "A friend of my friend is a friend, so you're welcome any time."

"Thank you," Dimitri replied. 

"Hey, maybe our houses could be friends," Claude said simply. "And then, since we're such good friends, you guys could foot the bill for a friendly get-together meal..."

"Aha, your true intentions are revealed," Hilda said, ignoring decorum to point her fork at Claude accusingly. "You just want a free meal!"

"Guilty as charged," Claude answered.

"Well, our house _is_ home to two decorated chefs..." Dimitri noted. "If Ashe and Dedue were to agree to it, then I would not exclude it as a possibility."

"Yes!" Claude cheered. "Free food!"

"Did someone say food?!" Raphael asked, approaching rapidly.

"Didn't you already get enough food?!" Lysithea demanded irritably, trailing along after him.

"No, no, there's never enough meat," Ingrid answered, carrying a plate full of skewers.

"Are you done dawdling?" Felix asked. "Get seated. You're all taking up space."

Claude grinned, before leaving his seat to let the members of the Golden Deer know that they were officially sharing a table with the Blue Lions out of totally-innocent motives.

As he gathered everyone together, a set of pale violet eyes watched him.

In a few months, they'd start inviting the Black Eagles to their table, but for the time being, the Blue Lions and Golden Deer were rowdy enough.


	7. Chapter 7

"You should have started the work the day it was assigned!" Lysithea snapped, before storming off.

"Geez..." Hilda said with a sigh. "Can't anyone help a poor girl like me?"

And then she paused to think over her actual options.

Raphael...?

_"Aw, I'd love to help and all, but... I couldn't get through the work either! We could both use a hand, huh?"_

No.

Leonie and Lysithea had already rejected her, telling her that she ought to be more responsible.

Lorenz...?

_"I might be able to help. Shall we discuss the matter... over some tea—"_

No. No, no, no, no, _no._

She was desperate, but not _that_ desperate.

Marianne...?

_"Yes... of c-course... if the work of someone like me is any good, then I'd rather you use it. I-I'll replace my name with yours."_

...yeah, no, Hilda was morally opposed to making Marianne's self-depreciation any worse.

_"Huh?! My work?! I-I mean, yeah, I finished it, but there's no way it's anywhere near good... sorry."_

Same for Ignatz! Same thing for Ignatz!

And Claude...

_"Hmmm, well, I've needed a bit of help with a scheme... if someone were to do that, I'd be a lot more cooperative."_

Claude would do!

* * *

"Eh? No? I don't have any schemes?" Claude replied.

"Lies," Hilda declared. "I don't care what I have to do, if you help me."

"But I legitimately don't?"

"Claude. _Please_."

"Hilda. I know this must come as a massive shock to you, but I do not spend literally every single day making some sort of plan."

"It's not a massive shock, because it's a massive lie!"

"Why does no one trust you when you say you're being honest..." Claude said with a sigh...

"Because you don't do that," Hilda shot back.

"Okay, _fine_, so I _might_ have been stretching the truth a _little_," Claude admitted, "but the plan right now is barebones! Not even a concept yet! I cannot ask you to help, because it doesn't even qualify as a thing yet!"

"Then, let me help you brainstorm!"

"Sorry, no can do. Brainstorming's a very sensitive operation. Can't have too many cooks in the kitchen," Claude replied.

"Argh, fine!" Hilda huffed. "I'll go find someone else to help me!"

"Have fun!" Claude replied as she stormed out.

He only laughed at her angry response.

And then went to brainstorm a scheme with Ashe and Ingrid, because of course he wanted to join in on that plan, it was bound to be hilarious.

* * *

Hilda sighed, having found herself in the library.

"Argh... someone help me..." she grumbled as she glared holes into the book. She had already ruined an entire page of parchment out of frustration...

"Hilda? Are you alright?" a voice to her side asked.

"I'm about to throw this— eh? Dimitri?" Hilda paused, looking up and at the blonde standing next to her.

"Yes, that's me," Dimitri replied with a smile.

"What are you doing here?" Hilda asked.

"Well, I wanted to review a few things..." Dimitri trailed off, eyes not so subtly going to the snapped quill by her hand. "How about you?"

Hilda paused.

"...I forgot to do an assignment," Hilda said quietly. "So, I'm trying to finish it before the class tomorrow..."

"Would you like some help?" 

Hilda froze.

"Wait, wait, you came here to study on your own, right? Focus on yourself and your own studies first!" Hilda exclaimed.

Because, well, she _still_ thought Dimitri was an insane workaholic with an insane tendency to try and help others.

"But, it wouldn't be right to just let a friend struggle," Dimitri said, frowning.

Hilda was grimacing internally, because goddammit, his expression made it feel like she was actually trying to kick a puppy who just tried to help her but also if she let the puppy help he might collapse from exhaustion and—

Dimitri, naturally, misunderstood.

"I know that you can feel conflicted (because it's hard to accept help, I know and understand this), but please, feel free to rely on me," Dimitri told her. 

"No, no, no, I refuse to do this. I cannot take advantage of you. I absolutely refuse," Hilda said simply. 

"Hilda..."

"I'm not backing down," Hilda declared. 

"Then, would you like to study together?" Dimitri asked. "The book you're reading would be a useful review of one of my recent lectures, so it would benefit us both."

"...eh?"

Dimitri simply waited for her response.

"Hey, wait, are you serious?!" Hilda demanded loudly, because holy _moly_, this was the _chance of a lifetime_—!

"Ahem," Tomas said.

* * *

"Hey, Dimitri," Hilda spoke up from their new seats in the reception hall, "what's a _'vernacular'_?"

"Weak point, I think," Dimitri replied, not even looking up from his notes.

"No, wait, that's a vulnerary."

"What? No, a vulnerary is a healing potion. The ones you gave me were vulneraries." 

"Those were concoctions," Hilda retorted. 

"Are they not both healing potions?"

"No, a vulnerary is a weak point or weakness, and concoctions are the things that fix it. I'm asking about vernaculars."

That was when Dimitri let out a soft _'oh_.'

"I thought you said _'vulnerability'_," Dimitri said. "Vernacular is spoken language."

"I sure hope you're right about that," Hilda replied, "because I'm writing an entire paragraph on it, and it would suck if all of it was wrong."

"I will do my best not to lead you astray," Dimitri promised.

Hilda wrote down another line, dotting her _'i'_s with hearts.

"Hey, Dimitri?"

"Yes?"

"Thanks," Hilda said, smiling.


	8. Chapter 8

"Guess who has the _honour_ of participating in one of my schemes!" Claude declared, his voice waking Hilda up from her Professor Hanneman-induced nap.

Hilda made a show of looking around the (empty) classroom before innocently going, "oh, I don't know, could you ever _possibly_ fill me in?"

"Hilda, Hilda, _Hilda_," Claude said simply. "Could it really be anyone but you? Your charm, your wit, your ability! It would be impossible to get anything done without your help!"

Hilda giggled behind her hand.

"You're just trying to butter me up! Don't stop!"

Claude laughed.

"I could go on and _on_ about your magnificence, but I could offer you something a bit more... appealing, you know?"

"More appealing? Than having my virtues praised without me doing anything?" Hilda asked. "Oooh, that is a _tempting_ offer..."

"Just wait, it gets better!" Claude claimed. "Not only do you get adoration and praise, but you also get to have someone else do the work that you're supposed to be doing if you help me!"

"You sure know what a girl wants!" Hilda exclaimed. "I'm in!"

"Great! Your job is...!"

* * *

"Hm? Hilda?" Dimitri said, spotting her in the courtyard, surrounded by cats. "What's going on?"

"Oh, hi Dimitri!" Hilda greeted him happily in return, holding a giant fish. "I ran into the professor after they got back from the fishing pond, and they handed me this! There's _no_ way a tiny girl like me could eat it all, so I'm giving it to the cats!"

She neglected to mention that she had asked the professor for it, and also the fact that the fish was bait for the bait for the plan. It wasn't important.

"Well, I'm a bit busy, so everyone, eat your fill!" Hilda ordered the cats, before she dropped the fish and ran off. The cats pounced on the meal.

Dimitri felt a bit confused, but also a bit stunned by the kindness she showed the cats. 

He walked off before he noticed two girls walking into the scene from two different venues.

"A-ah...! Incredible... they're all so happy...!" Marianne noted while smiling. She went to kneel down and pet one, causing a kitten that recognized her from previous petting to meow happily.

Ingrid stared in awe at the sight. She didn't even know Marianne _could_ smile like that...! It was... beautiful...

* * *

Then, he ran into her in the dining hall, carrying a box.

"What's this?" he asked her.

"Oh, it seems that a delivery of tea leaves was sent to me by mistake!" Hilda replied. "I was just returning it to its rightful owner!"

"How noble of you," Dimitri said with a smile.

"Hehe, you're gonna make me blush!" Hilda exclaimed. "Anyways, see you, Dimitri!"

She left through the doors leading to the entrance hall. From the distance put between them, Dimitri didn't hear Hilda calling the tea leaves chamomile, which caused an offended Lorenz to correct her. An intrigued Ferdinand came in and started a conversation with the fellow tea lover, making Hilda exit the scene with a sly grin.

Yep. Claude's plan was sowing the seeds of romance amongst the school.

And he was right. It was _hilarious._

* * *

"You seem very busy lately," Dimitri noted a few days later, as they were walking back to their dorm rooms together. Their steps were slow and relaxed, stretching out the walk to a comfortable pace for chatting.

"I do?" Hilda asked curiously.

"There was that time I ran into you in the library, and you were looking for that book of the Kingdom's fables."

Hilda remembered that. Her job was to leave it out in the open where Felix and Ashe could find it.

"And when you were polishing the weights so intently in the training hall..."

Oh, that time where she was stalling for time to make Leonie have to carry all the weights back at once, showing off her muscles in front of an increasingly-flustered Dorothea...

"You also prepared sweets in the kitchen with Professor Byleth the other day..."

To lure Lysithea, Cyril, and Annette into the same room...

"And how could I forget the time you were caring for the plants in the greenhouse while singing beautifully?"

Ah... when she was trying to lure Bernadetta and Raphael into the same place...

Huh. She had pretty much gotten to everyone but Ignatz, because Claude was handling Ignatz. Something about using books that Claude was also interested in reading or something.

"You're right," Hilda admitted, "I've been pretty busy lately (though it _has_ been pretty fun.)"

"Don't overexert yourself," Dimitri advised her. 

Hilda laughed.

"I can't believe _you're_ the one telling _me_ this," Hilda said.

Before Dimitri could ask what she meant and thus be told that she was actually very lazy and possibly clear up their many misunderstandings, Hilda continued.

"But, how come you've always been at the right place at the right time to see what I was doing?" Hilda asked.

Dimitri paused.

"Now that you say it, that _is_ quite odd..." Dimitri agreed.

Hilda mulled it over for a second, before shrugging. "Oh well. Maybe I was just running around so much I ran into everyone?"

"That would make sense," Dimitri admitted.

"But, now that you mention it, I _have_ been working hard! I need a break!" Hilda declared, doing a complete one-eighty in front of the stairs to their floor.

"Huh?" Dimitri stopped in front of her, curious about her sudden movement.

"You've been working hard too, right?" Hilda asked with a grin. "Wanna take a take a break together with me?"

Dimitri thought it over, before realizing that he was a bit ahead of his assignments and had the time.

"Alright, where do you want to go?"

"Oh, let's take a nap under the sun! It'll be _totally_ relaxing!" Hilda exclaimed.

"T-t-together?!" Dimitri demanded, blushing. "Wait, wouldn't that be improper?!"

"Then, let's make sure it's somewhere no one can see and scold us!"

"No, no, that's just making things worse! _Hilda!"_

Hilda laughed, having had her bit of fun teasing him.

"Then, sit and talk with me?"

Dimitri let out a sigh of relief, before smiling.

"Gladly."

* * *

The pair was chatting on one of the courtyard benches together, Hilda laughing as she shared a funny story about Professor Manuela in class.

From behind a pillar, three heads peeked out, before retreating back in unison.

"It's working!" Ingrid exclaimed happily.

"I thought it was a bit too complicated to work out," Ashe admitted. "I mean, we had to coordinate where to send his highness, you had to send Hilda to different places while making her do things that brought out her good side in front of him... but, it actually worked!"

Claude chuckled, before ruffling Ashe's hair.

"Have a bit more faith in me, alright? I've got a lot more where that came from."

Oh yes, he thought as he eyed the two, he had a lot more romantic schemes up his sleeve.


	9. Chapter 9

"Are you good at cooking?" Hilda asked, watching Dimitri go about preparing the kitchen. 

"I can follow a recipe," Dimitri replied.

She had been curious about the weird sounds coming from there, when it turned out to be Dimitri frantically pacing as he flipped through the cookbook. Hilda invited herself in at the sight, sitting on a chair by the table behind Dimitri.

She didn't lift a finger to help him, and he didn't ask her to. She simply watched his back as he worked on the food.

"Well, then, I'll be cheering for you as your emotional support!" Hilda exclaimed. "Good luck!"

"Erm... thank you," Dimitri said. "I'm not quite experienced with culinary matters..."

Hilda watched as he set down the cookbook, awkwardly beginning to peel the potatoes. She bit back a retort about him being as awkward as he said, not wanting to break down his confidence when he, in her mind, was finally taking steps to do something he could relax doing.

"Don't worry, I'm sure it'll taste great!" Hilda told him. "Do your best!"

Dimitri hesitated, slowing down a bit.

"Go Dimitri!" Hilda cheered, cupping her mouth with her hands.

"E-er, you don't _have_ to keep cheering, you know," Dimitri said. He set aside the peeled potatoes, placing them in a separate bowl as he grabbed the carrots.

"But it's fun," Hilda said instantly. And then, almost as an afterthought, she added, "plus, wouldn't you want to cheer on your friends?"

"I would like to be a source of support for people," Dimitri admitted, "though I might not be that good at it."

Hilda felt her smile grow a bit bigger.

Staring at his back as he kept at it, Hilda wondered what sort of cheesy, cliche line she could say to encourage him.

"Hey, it's fine if it's not perfect," Hilda said. "Even if you mess up a little bit, people will appreciate the effort, okay?"

Wondering why those words seemed to dye her voice with sadness, Hilda added, "so relax! It's fine!"

_'Ah...' _she thought, her expression darkening, _'isn't this something I wanted to hear when I was younger?'_

A quiet sigh left her lips at the realization.

Dimitri turned towards her, lips forming her name—

But then, he set the knife down a bit too hard, chopping straight through the cutting board.

"Holy shit," Hilda said instantly.

Dimitri instantly flushed red.

"I, um, well..." he fumbled about, trying to say something now that he had ruined his chance.

Then Hilda remembered something.

_'I'm not very good at controlling my strength.... It's rather embarrassing...'_

_'He... must be so worried he screwed up!' _Hilda thought, and because she was someone who did her best to make sure her friends were okay and comfortable, she made a choice.

Hilda got up from her chair and began walking over.

Dimitri trailed off as she approached...

...and then passed by him. She grabbed a frying pan, then, without warning—

Hilda smashed it on the table as hard as possible!

"Wow, these things are surprisingly low-quality, huh?" Hilda asked in an innocent tone, bringing her hands together in front of her chest. "Shouldn't they replace them if this stuff is so fragile?"

Dimitri stared in shock at the broken-off handle, then looked towards the table. Which... fell over and collapsed into pieces of wood the moment he looked at it too hard.

Now, Hilda's innocent tone was in regards to the act of deliberately breaking a frying pan. She was genuinely surprised she managed it.

Not the fact that she _could_ break a frying pan, but the fact that she had managed it so _easily._

Because Hilda's perception of herself prevented her from realizing how _incredibly strong_ she was.

"Looks like we'll both be scolded, huh?" Hilda asked casually. "Let's do our best to stay out of _too _much trouble, okay?"

"Why did you do that?" Dimitri asked bluntly.

Hilda paused.

Then, she thought to a little girl, always staring at her genius older brother, always trying to reach his retreating back, always failing, always messing up, always _giving_ up...

And she smiled up at him.

"I can't have you getting into trouble without me if I can help it!"

Dimitri stared at her with an expression somewhere between baffled, concerned, and confused, when a chef came in and screamed at the mess they had made of the kitchen.

* * *

"Wow... it's a good thing all we have to do is replace the stuff we broke," Hilda said as the two of them went through a general store in town. She was standing by Dimitri's side as he evaluated the replacement frying pan candidates. "I wonder if my charm has anything to do with it?"

Dimitri let out a tired sigh.

Hilda paused, her happy tone dropping a bit as she asked, "hey, something wrong?"

Dimitri hesitated, eyes downcast as he set down the pan.

"Have you heard news of the revolution against the church?" Dimitri asked quietly.

Hilda nodded, as Dimitri went on and explained that the person leading the attack was actually Ashe's adopted father. 

Hilda's eyes widened in horror at the news, along with just a bit of guilt that, well. Ashe was just a face in the hallway to her. It was sad, but in the same way news of a tragedy far away was sad.

"I... knew he must have been, no, he _was_ devastated," Dimitri went on, "so, I wanted to try my hand at comforting him. He likes cooking, so..."

He remembered Claude coming up to him and asking about Ashe's sake... by the end of the conversation, Dimitri, as foolish as it was, actually thought he could manage it.

Hilda looked up at Dimitri, feeling something strange well up in her.

A strange mix of appreciation for his kindness, sadness that his attempt had went badly, and the feeling that she wanted to erase the sad look on his face.

Hidla tugged on his sleeve to get him to look her way, then spoke.

"We could grab him some food while we're out. Or maybe get a professor to look over the kitchen next time!" Hilda suggested with a smile. "Or we could get him his own cooking supplies!"

Dimitri paused, eyes widening at her words.

"Hey, it's actually really great that we're out here!" Hilda exclaimed. "It means we have more options!"

_'So please,' _Hilda thought as she asked him what else Ashe might like, _'don't beat yourself up over your mistakes! You're doing just fine!'_

* * *

"H-huh...? What is this...?" Ashe asked, staring up at the objects lined up neatly on the table before him.

"We got you some candy, a book, seed packets, bow maintenance stuff, and some beef skewers," Hilda listed off the gifts casually. "Professor Byleth watched over us as we cooked, so it's edible!"

"Why...?" Ashe asked quietly.

"We wanted to make sure you knew that, in this trying time, you're not alone," Dimitri said. "We will stand with you."

"...your highness... Hilda.... I..." Ashe trailed off, before smiling. "Thank you..."


	10. Chapter 10

Felix was glaring.

This was a normal thing that happened, to just about everyone. What differentiated this glare from every other glare was that he was glaring at a slice of cake.

It wasn't even doing anything, it was just sitting on the dining table innocently, but Felix _still _glared at it like it had hit his cat with a carriage and hadn't apologized.

"Where did you get that in the first place?" Ingrid asked. "I thought you hated sweets."

"I _do_," Felix grumbled.

"No way, is it a gift for a lovely—"

"Finish that sentence and I'll stab you," Felix declared, turning his anger from the cake to Sylvain.

"So, instead of a gift _for_ someone, it's a gift _from_ someone... and someone who doesn't know your tastes at all, at that."

That was technically true, in that Felix accidentally walked in on Lysithea eating cake, which then prompted her to shove a slice at him and run. She seemed to be under the impression that it was going to convince him to keep a secret, as if he cared enough about other people to go around gossiping about them.

Anyways, the reason this was important was that Felix started grumbling about the weird Golden Deer people, which was obviously a cue for one of said weird Golden Deer people to show up.

"Mind if I take it off your hands, then?" Claude asked with a sly smile and an extra plate.

* * *

One half of the cake went to Bernadetta's room with Raphael as a peace offering, while the other half went to Ashe, with a clarification that it was NOT a gift from Felix, who did NOT want him to feel better, because he did NOT care about the grey-haired boy at all, don't tell him anything, wink wink.

Claude took a detour to drop off the plates in the washing bin and was on his way elsewhere when he got cornered in the courtyard.

"Good afternoon, Claude," Edelgard greeted him.

"Princess!" Claude exclaimed dramatically, drawing everyone's eyes to them. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Edelgard sighed.

"I have something to discuss with you, though it will have to be away from public eyes."

_"Woah_ there, princess. That's a bit too forward for me. Maybe woo me slowly, with flowers and dinner, and then we'll talk?"

"Th-that's not what I—!" Edelgard shook her head, before her voice settled down again. "Very funny, Claude. But I just want to know what you're planning."

"Wouldn't we all," Claude replied with a grin. 

Edelgard wondered why she even thought she could get a straight answer from him.

Claude laughed, casually saying, "but hey, if you really wanna keep an eye on me so bad... why not tell your house to join in on our dining table? I bet it's pretty lonely, being the only house left out like that. And I feel so guilty about it, you know?"

"...is this part of your plan?" Edelgard asked quietly.

"Easy there princess. It's eating together with pals, not wartime strategy, right?"

Edelgard's eyes widened.

And that was when Claude spotted something behind Edelgard's back, a pair approaching at a leisurely pace.

"Now, if you'll excuse me..." Claude trailed off, before running to the nearest bush.

"Huh—?! Wait! We're not done yet—"

Edelgard's attempt to chase him got her pulled into crouching behind the bush too, Claude shushing her as a pair went and sat on the bench in front of them.

Edelgard was very confused, which was not helped by how distracted she was by Claude's warm hand holding hers and their close proximity.

And then she heard voices.

"Urgh! I can't believe this school! Telling me to do a fighter test...!" Hilda huffed. "There's no way a cute, delicate, weak girl like me could handle that!"

"You're putting yourself down too much," Dimitri told her. "You're plenty strong, Hilda."

There was a quiet mumble of thanks, before Hilda asked if his class was also going through specification tests.

Dimitri told her that they were, saying that he had been advised to go for a soldier class.

Hilda nodded, saying that he was definitely going to be good in the part, before sighing loudly.

"Geez... that fuss with Lonato the month before, now midterms right before the goddess' rite of rebirth... argh, why do we have to do so much?! Isn't this the festival month?!"

"Festival month? I didn't hear of any such thing..."

"Oh, didn't you hear? On the last day of the rite, the monastery is open to the public. It's like a festival!" Hilda exclaimed. 

"I see! Thank you for explaining."

"No problem! Hey, maybe we could all get our classmates to hang out together!"

Edelgard paled as she realized that she had fallen into Claude's trap.

He meant for this to happen! He meant to drag her into a position where he could demonstrate that he was already well on his way to reaching his goal...

_His goal of building an alliance with Faerghus that could oppose the Empire if needed! _

His second-in-command had already wrapped the prince around her finger... and his strange actions, his prompting people to do certain things, talk to certain people, it was all the means to an end!

Dimitri and Hilda left, still chattering on innocently, prompting Claude to pull Edelgard up with him.

"So sorry about that little inconvenience, princess," he said, because that was a genuine thing he didn't intend to happen. 

"...Claude."

"Yes?"

"I will see what I can do about those dining arrangements," Edelgard stated, wearing a smile to cover up her strategizing.

"I look forward to eating alongside you, then," Claude replied, grinning in equal measure.

_'Keep your friends close, your enemies closer! With this, I can interfere with his plans!'_

_'Sweet, now I can mess with, I mean, "help" the Black Eagles fall in love more easily!'_

The two house leaders both walked away with a certain sense of satisfaction.


	11. Chapter 11

Ingrid heard humming as she approached the stables.

She paused at the sound, peeking around the corner. She didn't know why she was hiding, but she was glad she did, when she saw the cause of the sound.

"Oh, Dorte, would you like a song now?" Marianne asked. 

Her horse leaned his head against her hand, and Marianne laughed, before beginning to sing to him.

It was a simple song, a prayer for good health often taught to children when they were first being introduced to the church.

Almost unconsciously, Ingrid found herself humming along, which... was not a good idea, because Marianne didn't know she was there.

"Eek!" Marianne shrieked at the sound of someone else's presence, standing up from her stool and turning around in fright. Some of the horses bristled at the loud sound.

Ingrid decided that remaining hidden was probably the worst thing she could do, and thus emerged with her bucket of grooming supplies.

"I'm sorry to frighten you! I was just going to groom my steed...!" Ingrid explained hurriedly.

"O-oh... I'm sorry..." Marianne said, keeping her eyes downcast. "I'll let you groom your horse in peace."

Ingrid sort of panicked as Marianne tried to walk past her, and wound up saying, "You won't be bothering me! I just... it's nice to see that I'm not the only one who cares for the horses."

Marianne paused.

"Would you like to stay?" Ingrid asked, wondering why Marianne was so skittish around people in general, and what she could do to change that. "We could care for them together."

Marianne hesitated, before saying, "alright... if you don't mind me being here."

"Not at all!" Ingrid declared. "It's a pleasure."

Marianne offered Ingrid the stool she was using, which Ingrid thanked her for as she began grooming her horse.

"Your singing voice is very pleasant. Do you often sing to the horses?" Ingrid asked.

Marianne let out a slight groan, still embarrassed she had been caught. 

"I do... sometimes."

"I apologize for eavesdropping," Ingrid said. "I just was amazed by the song, so I couldn't help but listen."

"No, I just have practice singing hymns to the goddess. That's all," Marianne insisted.

Ingrid didn't quite know whether or not pressing on that subject would make Marianne uncomfortable or not, so she switched topics.

"Do you spend a lot of time in the stables?"

Marianne was quiet for a moment, and then...

"Yes, I do," Marianne said softly. "I love taking care of animals. They're... my friends."

Ingrid turned towards the other girl and almost dropped her curry comb.

Marianne was smiling.

For all of two fractions of a second, before Marianne caught her gaze and immediately apologized for being so boring.

Ingrid's response was a flustered, "no, it's fine! Of course I'm happy to hear that you also love animals! Do you ride?"

"I... d-do, sometimes."

"Then, perhaps we could ride together?" Ingrid offered. "Whether it's a leisurely walk or a race, I would love to spend time with you."

Marianne looked a bit uncomfortable, so Ingrid amended her words, saying, "though, I won't force you to. Seek me out if need be, alright?"

Marianne nodded slowly, and the two girls finished up and left.

They couldn't go to their rooms because they were next door neighbours. So they both went in opposite directions, found a nice, quiet, isolated spot, and screamed.

This meant that neither of them were there at the first meal with all three of the houses at one table, and neither of them knew what piece of exciting gossip happened this time.

Fortunately for Marianne, she knew one of the people directly involved. And Ingrid, well, she was friends with Ashe, who heard it from Sylvain, who heard it from Annette, who heard it from Mercedes, who was there alongside Dedue, which was frankly good enough.

Supposedly, Hilda and Dimitri were at the training hall together, when...

* * *

"So, what does your training routine usually look like, then?" Dimitri asked as he, Hilda, and Dedue walked into the training hall.

Hilda had kind of gotten used to Dedue being the quiet guy who watched her to make sure she didn't break Dimitri's arm whenever he was present. Which was surprisingly not that often? Was he being distracted from his duties a lot or something?

(As he was listening to Felix call him a half-knight and tell him not to abandon his ideals, Ashe sneezed. Claude, meanwhile, was off trying to see what happened if he locked Sylvain and Caspar in a room together.)

"Oh, nothing special," Hilda replied casually. "Just some weight-lifting, stretching, and then leaving."

Dimitri stared at her, and then asked how much weight she used.

Hilda's answer almost made his eyes pop out of his skull.

"That's... you could lift Dedue," he said simply.

"No, no I couldn't, because he would crush me," Hilda said, before turning to Dedue. "No offence."

"None taken."

"No, but you... ignoring the height difference and size difference, could actually genuinely lift him," Dimitri said. "Dedue, how much do you weigh?"

Dedue answered promptly. Hilda made a baffled expression at his words.

"Wait, no, I must have heard that wrong. There's no way, right? I mean, either that, or I misread how much it weighs... I mean, there's no way a weak girl like me could ever be _that_ strong."

Wordlessly, Dimitri went to grab the weight shelf.

Dedue didn't even react to Dimitri somehow managing to carry the entire shelf of all the weights together, so Hilda guessed she wasn't supposed to either? But that was seriously impressive? Holy shit?

Dimitri set it down before her, asking her to grab what weights she usually used.

"This one is pretty light for its size, so I use this," Hilda said, holding a dumbbell weight the size of a manhole cover.

"That's the heaviest one they have at the monastery," Dimitri said bluntly.

"Eh? Seriously? Wasn't there another one? There has to be one."

"Hilda, do you not realize how incredibly strong you are?"

"I'm not sure if I can take this seriously coming from you, considering that you literally just lifted all the weights they have combined," Hilda retorted.

"I don't understand why you're so insistent on calling yourself weak and helpless," Dimitri told her. "You have incredible strength! So why...?"

Hilda sighed.

"Look, Dimitri. I get that you... well, you're the type to believe in people," Hilda started off. "But I'll just disappoint you, one way or another."

She set the weight back on the shelf, looking up at Dimitri with a bright, fake smile.

"You either shape up or step down, you know," Hilda said, "and, well. I chose to step down. It's less work that way."

Dimitri could tell that she had a story she wasn't telling him.

But... he didn't want to just let his friend keep doubting herself.

So he challenged her to a sparring match.

It worked great last time.

...

As Dedue was putting away the shelf, he sighed in exasperation and went to call for Mercedes.

* * *

Dimitri and Hilda's sparring match started off with weapons being used.

And then Hilda managed to break Dimitri's practice lance in half, forcing him to discard it. She threw away her axe too, just to be fair.

They were then forced into unarmed combat. Which was a problem in many ways, because both of the people involved were insanely strong, and as the fight went on, they were forgetting more and more of their usual restraint.

Such as...

"You just threw me through a wall!" Hilda screamed, getting up from the rubble and charging back at Dimitri with nothing but her fists. "What the hell, Dimitri?!"

"I apologize!" Dimitri replied as he dodged a punch, before realizing something. "You just _stood back up?!"_

"Isn't that the bare minimum of what to do in a fight?!"

"Reconsider your definition of bare minimum, would you?!" Dimitri retorted, kneeing her in the stomach. Hilda retaliated by headbutting him in the chin.

"Would you like some cookies?" Mercedes asked Dedue, a picnic basket at her side. She had a smile on her face, even as Dimitri began to laugh and up the ante.

"Perhaps afterwards," Dedue answered, watching the fight to ensure that there were no serious injuries.

In the end, Professor Byleth stopped the fight, because they were getting alarmingly close to actually breaking more of the training hall.

* * *

"No... she managed to _stand back up_? From _his highness' strength?"_ Ingrid asked in disbelief. 

"I couldn't believe it either, but then Felix complained about having to wait for the hole in the training hall wall to be repaired!" Ashe exclaimed.

"That's... incredible...!" Ingrid said.

"It really is," Ashe said. "And, well, we ought to try harder to help them!"

"Huh?"

"I want to repay them for their kindness," Ashe admitted. "And, well... don't you think that, since they're so strong, they could be like the knightly couple--"

"--from the Valentian Accord!" Ingrid finished off, eyes dazzling. "They could subjugate all their enemies together!"

"Protect the weak and defeat the wicked!" Ashe added.

"Bring a new era into this world!"

"An era of justice and righteousness!"

The two were completely fired up! 

"You're right!" Ingrid exclaimed. "For the sake of that glorious future! We must work harder! Let's go talk to Claude right away!"

* * *

"Your Majesty," Hubert said in a dark, ominous tone. "It seems that there are two more conspirators with that man's plots. They tried to hide their scheme with codes, but I've easily deciphered them. Shall I make them disappear?"

"No, it would bring up too many questions to do so now," Edelgard replied. "For now, we must simply observe and anticipate his plan."

Somewhere, Claude sneezed. 


	12. Chapter 12

Professor Manuela was hungover.

She was leaning her elbows on the table before her like she could barely keep her body upright without it. Her voice was strained and tired. She seemed like she wanted nothing more than a nap in one of her own cots.

This was a fact that Hilda noticed very easily as she and Dimitri were sitting before her in the infirmary, getting lectured on how they couldn't just keep breaking things in the monastery. 

Dimitri was very ashamed of his actions and was actually taking the half-hearted, "I don't care but I'm supposed to tell you this," scolding seriously.

"This day can't get any worse," the teacher mumbled under her breath. "First a rejection, next, I have to do my _job_? What a _travesty."_

Hilda jumped on the chance.

"I heard you wrong, right?" Hilda asked. "You? _Rejected?_ How could anyone do such a thing?"

"I know!" Manuela exclaimed, before pausing to groan and hold her head. "For such a stupid, flimsy reason...!"

"That person must have been stupid, to pass up such a gorgeous woman..." Hilda trailed off, gauging Manuela's reaction. 

She perked up at Hilda's words, and it took all of Hilda's self-control not to snicker and tell Dimitri that they were free.

"I mean, you have such a beautiful voice, you care deeply for your students, you're intelligent and know how to heal... really, what was that person thinking, passing on such a _young_, beautiful woman?"

It was a critical hit straight to the heart.

"Ah... you remind me of myself in my younger days," Manuela said. "Cute, charming, and witty. I'll let you and his highness off with this little warning, but don't expect me to be so lenient if there's a next time!"

"Haha, of course!" Hilda said, before standing. She tugged on Dimitri's sleeve, urging him to stand. "Come on, Dimitri, let's not waste any more of the professor's time."

"W-wait, that's it?" Dimitri asked as he stood. "There's no additional punishment?"

"Your feelings of guilt are punishment enough," Hilda replied. "You don't need to do more on top of that, Dimitri."

Dimitri flinched at those words, which Hilda didn't notice as she dragged him along.

Manuela giggled to herself as they left, before groaning and then falling off her chair.

* * *

"Ah, really! It's such a good day! It would be a waste to be stuck up inside being scolded all day!" Hilda declared happily, stretching her arms out above her head as they walked outside. The path they were following was rather empty, most likely from people heading for meals or the library.

Dimitri was silent, still feeling guilty about his actions.

Hilda stopped walking, turning to Dimitri.

"It was an accident, okay?" she told him. "No one got hurt, they'll have the wall fixed by the festival, everything's fine!"

"Even so... It was truly my fault for losing control," Dimitri said. "You could have died a death you didn't deserve, all because I foolishly lost control of my strength (because of my bloodlust.)"

Dimitri sighed, his expression turning bitter.

"I... never want to experience that feeling again. I _hate_ the idea, I hate it (myself)... so, in order to remind myself why I must keep my power in line (to save it for only the ones I must enact vengeance upon), wouldn't it be better to face some sort of punishment?"

Hilda's eyes widened as she realized the gravity of his feelings.

Then, she got an idea.

"Then, let me decide what the punishment is, okay?" Hilda asked. "I'll make sure you don't forget."

Dimitri agreed, and, well.

Hilda dragged him along even more, but when he refused to go into her room, saying it was improper, she simply measured his wrist and retreated inside.

He had seen her prepare some sort of twine and blade before she told him not to look. Perhaps she would repay him with an injury in kind?

"Close your eyes!" Hilda ordered, her voice close to her door.

Dimitri did just that.

He heard her door swing open, then footsteps approaching him.

A warm hand took his, getting him to stretch his arm outwards.

There was a moment of silence, when Dimitri felt nothing but something occasionally brushing against his wrist, when Hilda announced that he could open his eyes.

Something was tied around his wrist with a pretty bow, azure and silver beads resting on a black ribbon. 

"Huh...?" Dimitri stared at the bracelet in confusion.

"It's something I whipped up on a short notice, so it's pretty plain," Hilda said. "But when you look at it, you have to remember me, okay?"

She smiled up at him cutely, tilting her head to the side as she added, "that's how you'll remember to keep your strength in line from now on, so don't beat yourself up too much!"

Dimitri hesitated, before pulling his arm back to his side.

"I appreciate the thought, Hilda, but I can't accept this. I'll just end up breaking it."

"Don't worry about it, I can make you a better one," Hilda replied easily. 

"...are you sure?" Dimitri asked.

"Yeah, it's fine!" Hilda exclaimed, already a bit distracted by the thought of using charms on the next bracelet. Or maybe something more durable than a ribbon, maybe twine...? But, wouldn't that be uncomfortable? Hmm...

Hilda was so lost in thought that she didn't notice Dimitri's complicated expression.

"Oooh, now I'm excited! Let's go to town and buy some charms!" Hilda exclaimed. "You have to choose the ones you like best, okay?!"

Dimitri was stunned for only a second, before letting out a fond sigh.

"Alright," he replied, smiling at her warmly. "It would be my pleasure to accompany you."


	13. Chapter 13

Claude had a list inside his head, a list of people he hadn't quite figured out yet. Entry one and two were Edelgard and Hubert respectively, which seemed fitting in many ways.

Though, he wasn't one to back down from a challenge.

"Hubert, huh?" Claude said out loud to himself in the isolated garden. "He's always so close to the princess. No doubt that, if I were to approach her, he'd show up."

He grinned as he thought a bit more. "Perhaps I should, then. How else could I figure him out, right?"

From the shadows, something stirred...!

* * *

The dining hall was chaos.

Someone should have told Edelgard that the second time the three houses ate together, it would involve so much... everything.

Several tables were pushed together to make one long enough for everyone in the three houses. And, at one end, there was screaming.

"Go! Go, go, go, go, _go!"_ Caspar cheered, cupping his hands around his mouth as if his voice alone weren't enough to reach the _people armwrestling in front of him_. 

"Jeez, Raphael, you're trying, right?" Leonie asked smugly, her arm not budging an inch.

"'course I am!" Raphael replied jovially. "You're just stronger than you look!"

Leonie laughed. Dorothea was watching the match closely, in-between large gulps of water.

Caspar cheered once again, causing Linhardt to groan next to him.

"Oh, what I wouldn't give to be in a grassy field on a clear day," Linhardt said, thinking of how much he would rather be asleep.

Ignatz, who has been sitting next to Raphael and awkwardly not knowing how to speak to the Black Eagles, brightened at the sudden conversation topic he actually could talk about.

"Yes, nature is astounding! When the wind is blowing lightly, the sun shining on all the blades of grass, there's nothing that could put your heart more at ease!" Ignatz exclaimed.

Linhardt felt his eyes drift shut as Ignatz continued describing vivid scenery. The more Ignatz spoke, the more Linhardt could visualize the perfect napping spot, so Linhardt habitually nodded and grunted to get the bespectacled boy to keep going.

"Hmph, making such a ruckus, the commoners are easily pleased by trivial things, are they not?" Lorenz asked his tea partner.

"Individual commoners, perhaps, but commoners as a whole require diligent care to continue being satisfied," Ferdinand replied.

"Quite. It is our noble duty to care for them."

"Noble this, noble that, don't you have any other words in your _noble_ vocabulary?" Leonie asked bluntly.

Dorothea held her head in her hands over the table, unable to suppress her blush any longer.

Further down the table, Lysithea was on the verge of drawing up an entire schedule for Cyril to keep the boy well-rested and well-fed. Instead, she was secretly spooning her vegetables onto his plate when he wasn't looking. He was confused every time it happened.

Beside Cyril, a confused Petra was asking Mercedes exactly what went into the dessert. Dedue hastily clarified that meringue was light _as _a feather, not _made_ of feathers. Annette laughed by Mercedes' side, before asking who made the dessert.

Continuing on down, well, Ashe had chosen his spot in front of Felix because of what he had to do, but it was a bit nerve-wracking to do it so simply. He was just staring at the swordsman in anticipation, until Felix snapped a quick, "what?" at him.

"Here! Since you were so knightly before!" Ashe said hurriedly, almost throwing the candies at Felix. He didn't want to do it when his childhood friends were right there, but he had no choice!

Felix looked like he was about to kill someone.

"Huh? Someone gave Felix sweets _again?" _Sylvain asked, before smirking and nudging Felix. "Wow, you're getting popular!"

"Shut up," Felix retorted. Turning to Ashe, he said, "I don't need these."

Ashe was stunned by how chivalrous it was to just reject compensation for his kind deeds. 

Ingrid looked over from her attempts to start up a conversation with Bernadetta and Marianne, an awkward smile coming onto her face when she realized that her friends were in an awkward situation.

And then Annette asked if she could take the candies, and Ashe gave them to her. She then distributed the candies amongst her sweet-toothed friends. Including Ashe.

Ashe sighed at the candy in his hand, before swearing to repay Felix another way!

Finally, sitting across from the shy duo was Edelgard. And, next to her, were Hilda and Dimitri.

Hubert was out shadowing Claude, because there could be nothing more suspicious than Claude failing to show up to the lunch that he had _invited_ Edelgard and her house to.

So, Edelgard alone was watching to see how effectively Hilda had manipulated Dimitri.

And she was scared.

"That bracelet of yours... it's new, isn't it?" Edelgard noted.

Dimitri paused, before nodding. 

"Yes, it is. I didn't think anyone would notice."

"I have a keen eye," Edelgard said.

"Huh, I didn't know you were the type for jewelry, your highness," Sylvain said. "Oh, but then again, there was that time you were mistaken for Ingrid's little sister when we were younger, right? Maybe it's just a return to your roots?"

Ingrid lightly swatted Sylvain's shoulder.

"Are you trying to embarrass his highness or something?"

"Of course not!"

Felix rolled his eyes beside them.

Hilda laughed.

"Oh, please keep going! I would _love_ to hear how this story ends!"

"Please do not do that," Dimitri asked bluntly. 

"Don't worry, meet up with me later, and I'll tell you all the stories you want," Sylvain offered, winking at Hilda. Both Ingrid and Felix groaned at him. 

"Please don't flirt with anyone either," Ashe piped up to add, because please don't flirt with his highness's battle knight future girlfriend.

As Sylvain complained, Edelgard kept an eye on how Dimitri and Hilda interacted. Very amicably, rather comfortable with each other, but perhaps they were simply friends. Perhaps she could simply focus her attention on Claude while only interfering in this potential threat in quiet ways.

But, well, Hilda mistook this for Edelgard staring at the bracelet.

"Ah, wait, wait, wait, Princess Edelgard, please don't stare at Dimitri's bracelet too much! I made it quickly, there's no way it could stand up to your standards!" Hilda exclaimed.

"What?!" Sylvain said in shock.

Ingrid and Ashe were making eye contact and communicating in an instant.

And Edelgard, well, of course she picked up on the intimate gift. Of course she picked up on the fact that Hilda used _'Princess'_ for her, but nothing for Dimitri.

_'Dangerous... they've bonded this much in so little time?! Claude, what are you planning?!' _she thought, before taking deep breaths to calm herself. It would be fine. Hubert was tracking Claude. If he was doing anything suspicious, Hubert would--!

"Hey guys, sorry we're late!" Claude exclaimed, pushing open the dining hall doors with an arm over Hubert's shoulders.

Edelgard's eyes widened with fear as Claude sat down between her and Dimitri. Hubert sat at her other side as Claude greeted the others and laughed off a joke from Hilda.

"Your majesty, I apologize deeply for my absence," Hubert said. "Von Riegan caught me and _coerced_ me into listening to his inane questions and prattling."

Edelgard instantly realized what Hubert was trying to tell her.

Claude _knew_. He had _interrogated_ Hubert. And... there was some sort of threat involved?!

As if he were mocking them, Claude instantly said, "hey, we're all friends, remember? No need to be so formal. Claude's fine."

Edelgard couldn't help but despair at the sheer skill of her opponent...!

The conversations went on around Edelgard as she resolved herself to observe and analyze every move the others made. 

Then, one stray comment from Hilda in a discussion of the teachers set Edelgard's mind ablaze.

"You know, I kind of wish I was from the Empire," Hilda said simply. "If I was in the Black Eagles, then Professor Byleth would be helping out with each mission!"

Edelgard was reduced to staring as Claude joked about Hilda's betrayal. 

"Though, the Blue Lions would be a close second, since at least you guys have Professor Manuela..."

"We would gladly welcome you at any time," Dimitri said.

"Hey! Show some loyalty to the Golden Deer, would you?!" Claude demanded.

"No way! I'll go with whatever lets me relax and have fun!"

Edelgard instantly translated this into something she could use.

_'If you prove to me that the Empire has more strong pieces like the Professor, I'd betray the Alliance to join you.'_

_'And... if I can convince her to join me, then there's a chance I could use her to sway the prince...' _Edelgard thought. _'But they would need to be much closer for it to have a chance of working... if I try to get them closer, and I fail to convince her, then I'll simply end up strengthening the bonds between the Alliance and the Kingdom.' _

Edelgard took a bite of her meal as she sorted through her options.

"Speaking of missions, what were you guys assigned to do again?" Sylvain asked. "The Blue Lions were supposed to subdue some pirates..."

"There's this gang of ruffians and scoundrels running about, or so the rumours go," Claude said. "We're supposed to investigate them and stop them. What about you, princess?"

Edelgard answered quickly.

"The Black Eagles have been assigned to stop the thieves who made off with House Gautier's Relic."

Instantly, several eyes went to Sylvain.

"I see," Sylvain said simply. "Say, princess, you mind if I come along? No one else should have gotten dragged into my house's problems."

Edelgard paused, the pieces in her mind snapping together into a tentative plan.

"I don't mind at all," she replied. "We would appreciate your strength."

There was a noticeable quiet at their end of the table afterwards.


	14. Chapter 14

Dimitri had visited Sylvain's room out of concern. Sylvain had attempted to laugh off the prince's worries, but, after a while, had admitted that he _had_ been a bit troubled lately.

"Please, feel free to rely on me as you wish," Dimitri offered.

"Then..." Sylvain paused and sighed deeply. "Your highness, it pains me to see such a terrible thing happening."

Dimitri nodded, knowing that it couldn't be easy to come to terms with cutting down his own brother—

"I mean, you properly received a gift from a beautiful girl, so you have to give one in return! In fact, you should have been the one giving her a gift in the first place!" Sylvain exclaimed.

"Pardon?" Dimitri asked.

"You have no idea how the world of wooing works, your highness! I oh-so _desperately_ want to guide you, but that would be meddling, wouldn't it?!"

"Hold on, your brother?" Dimitri attempted, very much confused. "Are you not upset that he's... that you're helping stop him?"

"What? No," Sylvain replied. "He was garbage. Always has been."

"You're not saddened or anything?"

Sylvain paused, before saying, "hey now. A man's gotta do what has to be done. Even if I feel bad for him, well. It's not like we could start over on even footing."

Dimitri remained silent.

"It's better to focus on what can actually be changed," Sylvain stated, "such as your hopelessness with women!"

Dimitri sighed, before deciding to just let Sylvain do what he wanted this one time.

"But, if you were ever to need a shoulder to lean on..."

"Yeah, yeah, I'll come to you, alright?" Sylvain replied easily. Dimitri could tell that the redhead wasn't likely to keep his word. "Now, how about we just head out and grab a gift for your new girl? Don't worry, I know just the place!"

They left as Dimitri denied the allegations of romance, prompting Sylvain to laugh.

Now, this was still in a dormitory. And, well, sometimes, the walls were thin. 

Especially if someone was only two rooms down from Sylvain's door.

Inside Claude's messy, messy room, their conversation had been overheard and the information filed away for later.

By Hubert, because Claude was out and they needed to break in to find out if Claude had written down anything of value.

Unfortunately for them, Claude had ingeniously made it borderline impossible to find anything in his cluttered room...! The only thing Hubert could find was schoolwork and textbooks.

Until he overheard that bit of _interesting_ information.

He kept that in mind to report to Edelgard later and went back to searching, hoping in his heart that Edelgard was doing well on her own mission.

* * *

Edelgard was on the verge of screaming, because her plan had almost completely gone off the rails.

She wanted to get on Hilda's good side gradually, proving to the pink-haired girl that the Empire could offer plenty of luxuries and benefits. So, she started off with a small gift, a set of beads, small charms, and other things for jewellery-making handed over near the gazebo. Edelgard told Hilda that she was impressed by her bracelet and wondered just what Hilda could do with fancier materials.

That was supposed to be the end of that.

And then Claude showed up.

"Hey, what's going on here?" he had asked, as if he weren't probably watching from the shadows and waiting for this moment to strike!

(He was passing by while leaving the reception hall.)

"Princess Edelgard is so nice! She gave me these for jewellery-making!" Hilda exclaimed, and Edelgard's internal screaming was only suppressed with thoughts of _'it's okay. It's okay. Her opinion of me and the Empire have gone up. I mentioned that it's easy to acquire these materials in the Empire. It's fine. Everything is going according to plan--'_

"Oh, nice! You going to make me a friendship bracelet now?" Claude asked with a grin. "I felt _so_ left out, you know?"

Hilda rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I was planning on making one for everyone anyways."

Claude laughed, while Hilda turned to Edelgard and asked what sort of bracelet she would like.

"...me?" Edelgard asked, eyes wide. 

"Of course!" Hilda replied. "I mean, you were the one who gave it to me, you know? It's only right to make you one first!"

"Can't argue with that logic," Claude said while nodding with a grin. 

Edelgard's composure cracked, just the tiniest bit.

"No, it's fine," Edelgard said. "I'm not too familiar with jewellery, so wouldn't it be better to gift your work to someone who could appreciate it better? (Dimitri. Please give it to Dimitri.)"

And then Claude spoke up.

"Princess, I never would have imagined that you were the type to let some lack of knowledge sabotage you!"

"Pardon?" Edelgard asked, eyes narrowed in an attempt to discern what hidden meaning he could have slipped into his words.

"If you're not familiar with jewellery, all you have to do is familiarize yourself!" Claude declared. "I'm sure Hilda can think of a good store to show you!"

Hilda nodded. 

"Don't worry! I know just the place!"

So Edelgard got dragged into spending time with Hilda and Claude.

She made small talk about them regarding courses and schoolwork and other such trivialities, but she was on her toes. It felt like any second, one of them would drop a question that she couldn't answer without compromising herself.

(Actually, Hilda was pretty oblivious to what was happening. Claude was aware of Edelgard's anxiety, but figured she was just on-edge from being around people she didn't know well.)

"This place is full of cute bracelets and necklaces too," Hilda said. "It's kinda inspiring to go through their wares!"

And, inside...

* * *

_"Sylvain!_ I am not buying a betrothal ring!" Dimitri cried out, having been tricked into the wrong section by the redhead one too many times.

* * *

"Ooooh, exciting!" Claude said. "Looks like you'll have a work of art soon enough, princess!"

* * *

"Look, I'm just saying, it _might_ be useful!" Sylvain replied.

* * *

"I'm looking forward to it," Edelgard said politely.

* * *

"Argh, that's enough. I'm not entertaining your farces any longer!" Dimitri declared, storming towards the door.

And then when he shoved it open, he was face-to-face with Hilda, Claude, and Edelgard.

"Your highness-" Sylvain had followed Dimitri to the door, only to pause at the sight.

"Didn't expect to see you guys here!" Hilda exclaimed casually. "You guys just leaving?"

And that was when Sylvain decided, fuck it, he was already investing himself in other people's problems to avoid thinking about his brother, why not go all the way?

"Actually, his highness was just getting the door for me," Sylvain said. "Finally got a worthy gift for that lovely lady I've got my eye on. His highness is looking for something too, but he's hopeless with what ladies like. You'll help him out, right?"

"Sure," Hilda said, as Dimitri managed to ask what the hell Sylvain was doing with nothing more than an expression

Then, Sylvain went to leave, pausing only to whisper a soft, "tell me if my childhood friend gets a date today!" to Claude. Claude replied with a thumbs up behind his back.

Edelgard was so distracted by the burning thoughts of what they could have possibly communicated in that split second that she completely failed to realize the others agreeing to split up to make traversing the store easier. 

It took Claude calling her name and pointing her towards the bracelet section for Edelgard to realize that she was alone with Claude.

_'Oh no,' _was all Edelgard could think on the matter.

* * *

"Don't worry, Dimitri! I'll be sure to pick out something great!" Hilda promised. "What kind of things does this girl like? Colours? Necklaces, hairpins, bracelets, pendants?"

"Er... you would know better than me," Dimitri replied. "It's a gift for you."

"A gift for me, huh," Hilda repeated absentmindedly, before flinching. "Me?!"

"Do you not want one?" Dimitri asked.

"I do, but what's with this all of a sudden?" Hilda asked, before realizing that Dimitri was messing with his bracelet. "Is it to repay me or something?"

Dimitri nodded, smiling as he told her that he'd like to do something in return for all she had done for him. 

He did not mention what those things were. This let her assume that he just meant the bracelet and helping him relax, when he really meant something more like _'hey, thanks for trying to keep me from going mad with revenge at people who don't actually deserve it.' _

"I mean, you don't really have to, I'm happy just relaxing with you, but if you insist...!" Hilda said cutely, clasping her hands together excitedly.

"Please, feel free to choose whatever you'd like," Dimitri answered. 

"Ooooh, tempting..." Hilda muttered to herself. "It's a chance to go look at the super expensive jewels, but it's just plain _mean _to take advantage of Dimitri..."

She made up her mind and swore to get something cute, yet not that expensive! Even if he was a prince, she refused to make a dent in his pockets!

_'Let's see... if it's price, then usually hair accessories are cheaper than necklaces and bracelets. They can still be expensive, yeah, but they generally use less materials due to the smaller size,' _Hilda thought carefully.

Then, something caught her eye.

A dark hair clip was resting among other accessories. It was rather small compared to the others, but it stood out from its lack of shining metal or jewels.

Instead, it looked like the artisan made a simple bobby pin, then affixed a small flower at the curved end. Its petals were white, though the edges faded into pale blue.

_'Is it an actual preserved flower?' _Hilda wondered. _'Or maybe, is it made of metal? It doesn't seem like jewels or anything...!'_

"Has something caught your eye?" Dimitri asked.

Hilda nodded, before pointing out the hairpin that grabbed her attention.

Dimitri called for the shopkeeper, who looked concerned that anyone actually bothered to look at that one.

"Sorry for the offensive sight," the shopkeeper said instantly, grabbing the hair clip from the display. "It looks like my daughter was experimenting with jewellery again! I don't know how she got into the store case, but I could gladly redirect your attention to better--"

"I want to buy it," Hilda interrupted. 

"Eh."

"I mean, it's such a unique style!" Hilda exclaimed. "It manages to look just like a real flower! Hey, is your daughter here? How did she do it?"

The shopkeeper looked confused and flustered as she called for her daughter. A girl came from the back of the store, and her mother grabbed her a stool so she could actually look over the counter. 

The little girl was a bit shy at first, but Hilda's eager questions managed to pull some genuine enthusiasm out of her!

"I made the flower with cloth and stabbed the pin through it!" The girl answered. "I dipped it in wax and spun it to let it dry, and it won't detach from the wire now either! The colour was from dipping just the ends in coloured wax!"

"Incredible!" Hilda said with a smile. "I'll definitely be looking out for more of your work!"

Dimitri couldn't help but grin at the sight.

He handed over a few coins. The little girl presented the hair clip to Hilda with a proud smile. Her mother, looking on from the side, was grinning.

Hilda brushed a lock of hair behind her ear, fixing it in place with the clip. 

"Wow, miss! You look really cute!" the girl said while applauding.

"Hehe, thank you! It's thanks to you that I can look so cute!" Hilda said, before turning to Dimitri. "Thanks for the gift!"

"Of course," Dimitri said as they started to move away from the counter and back to Edelgard and Claude.

And, well, as they were walking, he let slip a "you look rather fetching."

He immediately backtracked, because, "n-not that you weren't attractive before, but with the hair clip, I mean, it... you look good."

Hilda laughed, but he knew she didn't mean to embarrass him.

"Thanks, Dimitri."

And then they reached Claude. And not Edelgard.

"Where has Edelgard gone?" Dimitri asked.

"She, uh, just left," Claude said. 

"What did you do," Hilda asked bluntly.

And Claude answered:

"I think I just accidentally got a date."


	15. Chapter 15

"Sorry to pull you away from your new pal, princess, but it just had to be done," Claude said as he brought Edelgard to the bracelet section of the store. "But hey, look on the bright side, we get to browse without all the blushing bluster and flustered flirting!"

Edelgard felt her blood run cold.

He knew she was trying to turn Hilda over to her side. He had _deliberately_ separated the group! 

(No.)

Pretending to be oblivious to her sudden burst of internal rage, Claude asked, "oh, hey, this one matches your eyes! What do you think?"

Edelgard was trying way too hard to regain her composure, so there was no way she could even spare a glance at the bracelet.

Breathe, she told herself. Maybe he wasn't trying to show off his skills and knowledge just to anger her or prove he was one step ahead. Maybe there was another reason. After all, he _had_ invited the Black Eagles to the joint dining table. Maybe... _maybe_...!

Urgh, his intentions were too frustratingly confusing to be read into! Edelgard was just going around in circles!

And then Edelgard decided, _no_. She would not continue to let herself be led around by the nose by this man. She would get her answers, she would get her goals accomplished, or _so help her_\--

So, Edelgard kinda sorta snapped, but in the small, heavily repressed way that made her seem calm. 

"I think," Edelgard said, a certain aggressive edge to her voice, "that we ought to sort something out between us."

"Hmm? What are you talking about, princess?" Claude asked.

"You are highly skilled in many domains," Edelgard said. "You're cunning, intelligent, and charismatic. I constantly see proof of your proficiencies (because you keep shoving your scheming in my face.)"

Claude paused, eyes widening.

_"Whoa_ there, princess, you make it sound like you're interested in me!" he exclaimed.

Edelgard felt herself grin, giddy at the fact that she had _finally_ done something to catch him off-guard.

"I cannot deny that my interest has been piqued by you(r abilities,)" Edelgard stated. "Is it the same for you? Do you have any interest in (joining) me? Or have you rejected my offer (and become my enemy)?"

Claude was more confused and baffled than anything.

"I-I think it's, well, you're not _uninteresting_ (unattractive), but isn't it a bit _too_ soon?" 

"Too soon?" Edelgard echoed.

"Right!" Claude calmed himself down quickly, shooting Edelgard a strained smile. "As witty and charming as you are, there's no way I could possibly give you an answer right now!"

Edelgard repressed her urge to click her tongue, as Claude shrugged and returned to joking around casually.

"Heh, maybe after dinner, princess? With a bundle of flowers, too."

"Fine."

"Ha, don't worry, I was just joking with you! You shouldn't take everything so seriously princess! You're way too easy to tease!"

"Claude," Edelgard said flatly. "I agreed."

"You... what?" Claude asked.

Edelgard grinned, because she had seen through him. She would not let his teasing catch her off guard and dissuade her from figuring out his intentions ever again!

"Are you free tomorrow evening?" Edelgard asked. 

"Um, yeah, but, _wait_\--"

"Then, I'll send the bouquet shortly. I'll see you at the front gate, tomorrow at eight," Edelgard said. "Good day."

And then she left, because she knew that, if she stayed longer, she would either become completely overjoyed at her first triumph that she would ruin everything, or accidentally reveal her hand to the master strategist.

* * *

"Holy shit," Hilda said. 

She had been napping in her room when a sudden series of frantic knocks came at her door.

Hilda had been _so ready_ to yell at whoever had woken her up, but then it was Claude before her. And he was holding a bouquet.

"Help, what do I do," Claude asked as Hilda let him into her room. Hilda shut the door as Claude took a seat on her bed. 

"She actually got you flowers?" Hilda asked, because she thought Claude was _kidding_ when he told her and Dimitri that he got _asked out_ by Edelgard. She thought that he had done something to make Edelgard storm off in anger!

"She did!"

"Huh," Hilda said as she eyed the bouquet. Hmm, she spotted orange flowers, blue flowers, white flowers, purple flowers, and an orangeish-pink sort of flower... did Edelgard just throw a bunch of flowers together or something?

(Actually, Edelgard chose her flowers carefully. All together, they were supposed to give a message of "you are cunning, I am a lady dealing in deception, I will be faithful, watchful, and true, so please take a chance on happiness with me so we can conquer the world and win victory in battle.")

(Which would be great, except Claude _didn't know flower language.)_

"There's a note attached too," Hilda observed, pulling out a paper attached to the wrapping. She cleared her throat and read it out loud for Claude.

_'Dear Claude,_

_I'm sincerely looking forward to where this goes._

_The snapdragons can be used to create a stomachache-inducing poison._

_Edelgard' _

"Oh wow, she even thought of you and your poisoning schemes!" Hilda noted in awe. "She must be really looking forward to tonight!"

Claude was still confused and baffled, but he just figured that it couldn't be that bad? Like, if he fucked up, well, it would be very sad to screw up with a girl like Edelgard, especially considering how much she seemed to like him, but he would be fine.

Probably.

Hubert wouldn't kill him.

Probably.

So, Claude decided, he was going to do his best. 

This meant a prep session with Hilda and an intense Q & A on how to not screw up with dating girls.

Hilda had managed to style his hair, get him into an outfit that was casual, but not _too_ casual, and even gave him some pointers!

"Basically, as long as you don't come off as a pervert, you'll be fine," Hilda said. "I mean, she already seems to like you a lot, so trying to act like something you're not would just turn her away."

"Right," Claude said, nodding. 

Hilda laughed.

"Wow, you're unexpectedly taking this really seriously, huh?"

"Hey, I might be a schemer, but there's no way I'll just trample on someone's feelings like that!" Claude exclaimed. Because, despite his general wariness around people, he had legitimately been unable to read Edelgard's actions and words as anything _but_ the behaviour of someone with a crush. A very, very bad crush.

They went about preparing until it was just about time for Claude to leave.

"Well, tell me how it goes!" Hilda said, escorting Claude to the door like a parent at the wedding aisle.

"Heh, of course! I'll need someone to brag to afterwards!" Claude exclaimed as he went out into the hallway.

"Or a shoulder to cry on when you're done!" Hilda shouted at his retreating back.

And they laughed, and Hilda stayed awake.

She wanted to be awake until the moment Claude returned, so she could hear all about the date.

So she paid careful attention to the sounds outside her slightly-opened door as the night went on. As the night grew darker and darker and the silence stretched on, she began to wonder just how well that date went.

But when Hilda was about to throw in the towel and go to sleep, she heard footsteps.

Quick, quiet footsteps, but they were loud against the almost stifling silence of the sleeping dorms.

Hilda poked her head out through her door, just as the footsteps passed by her room.

A tall figure was walking through the hall quickly. Hilda thought she caught sight of blonde hair.

Against all her better judgement, Hilda decided to follow after that person. 

The candle she had been using to illuminate her sketches was just about to go out, but she brought it anyways. Better than nothing in the darkness.

Locking her door behind her, Hilda crept through the hallway. It seemed like an eternity of wincing at every creaking step and watching for every shadow too dark before she reached the stairs.

She emerged by the greenhouse. Her flickering candle was less than effective outside, but the moon and stars were out, bathing the school a sombre blue.

It was tranquil, spooky, and, well, cold.

The night air was jarringly cold, something made worse by Hilda being in a simple nightgown. 

A gust of wind blew by, startling Hilda into dropping her candle. She stared with wide eyes at the fallen candle holder, feeling that everyone in the vicinity had heard the sound--

"Who's there?"

Hilda's eyes widened at the voice.

She hadn't seen the figure in the shadows of the greenhouse!

Instinctively, Hilda tried to back away, but...

The person stepped forward to investigate, stepping forward into the moonlight.

And Hilda recognized him, and her feet refused to move any further.

"...Dimitri?" 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lol edelgard's bouquet is clematis, snapdragon, blue violets, white violets, and nasturtium


	16. Chapter 16

Dimitri's posture was tense, even after Hilda called his name.

He wasn't dressed like he was going to sleep, Hilda noticed. He was wearing black boots over matching pants. His dress shirt was stark white but messily done, the same bright blue cloak of his uniform thrown over his shoulders.

Dimitri kind of looked like he was heading out.

On the other hand, Hilda looked like she had just rolled out of bed, because she had.

Her hair was loose and messy, plus, she was still wearing her sandals and long cream-coloured nightgown. 

The two of them sized each other up under the moonlight, before Dimitri broke the silence.

"What are you doing up?" Dimitri asked.

"I could ask you the same thing," Hilda replied, stepping forward to meet him. "Can't sleep?"

Dimitri paused, before saying, "I'm simply taking a walk."

"Mind if I come with you, then?" Hilda asked.

A moment of silence bubbled up, swelling with Dimitri's hesitation.

Hilda waited, making it clear that she wouldn't intrude if Dimitri wanted her gone.

Dimitri let out a soft breath, before bursting the silence with a quiet, "if that's what you would like." 

Hilda smiled, moving to Dimitri's side.

Dimitri was quiet as they started walking. His tense posture and anxious silence... his quick steps, as if something were chasing after him, even though he usually slowed down to match her pace...

There was something wrong, wasn't there? 

Hilda was worried for him. But she didn't know how to tell him about it.

Instead, she turned her attention to the sight of the school at night.

The crescent moon hung over them, its light just beginning to emerge. The stars were shining down brightly, the lights reflecting off of the lake's still, dark water. 

_'It kind of looks like there's two skies,' _Hilda thought.

It was the kind of sight that made one want to sit and admire it until they lost track of time.

And Hilda would have loved to, especially if she could get Dimitri to admire it too...

If it weren't so cold.

Dimitri didn't seem to mind the cold, but...! Hilda was freezing! Curse her short-sleeved nightgown!

A gust of wind passed, making Hilda shiver.

Dimitri paused, turning around to face her. Hilda realized with dread that she had broken the silence.

"Ha, geez, it's supposed to still be warm out, but it's actually pretty cold at night, huh?" Hilda said in a hopefully casual manner, even as she was hugging her arms. 

Dimitri was silent, so Hilda kept trying to talk.

"Though it might be that I just never went out at night before? Who knows?"

She almost sighed when there was no answer, looking up to gauge Dimitri's expression—

When suddenly, he draped his cloak over her shoulders.

"Huh?" Hilda stared up at him in confusion.

"You have to keep yourself warm," Dimitri said simply, "otherwise, you'll get sick."

Dimitri said that in a normal tone of voice, like everything was fine and there were no problems.

But he couldn't fool Hilda's nagging intuition, telling her that his voice was too forced, that there was a reason for her concern.

"You won't be cold, right?" Hilda asked, wrapping the cloak around herself. It was still warm from Dimitri's body...

"Faerghus is much colder, even on its warmest nights," Dimitri replied with a smile. "This is nothing."

Hilda felt her heart sink. 

Dimitri was just going to play the gentleman and avoid the subject. 

And somewhere in-between thoughts of whether or not she was overstepping her bounds, whether or not it was best to just leave it be... Hilda decided that she simply didn't _want_ to leave him be.

"Thanks," Hilda said with a grin. "Hey, Dimitri. In exchange, can you follow me? I want to show you something."

"...alright."

"I mean, it's not too far. It's literally right in front of us," Hilda said.

She was actually just leading him up the steps to the dining hall, even though the dining hall had long been locked up and closed for the night. Hilda wasn't aiming for that anyways. Her goal was the vantage point it offered, the balcony that let one see the pond reflecting the light of the stars and the moon.

They stopped before the railing. Hilda went right up to the edge, while Dimitri stayed one or two steps back.

"It's pretty, right?" Hilda asked quietly, like she was afraid her voice would disturb the still air.

"It is," Dimitri agreed. even though his tone, his expression, they made it clear he wasn't really _looking_ at anything. His head, his heart were somewhere else entirely.

But, Hilda felt like she could pull him back. She had made up her mind to talk to him and made sure he knew.

"You know, you remind me of my brother," Hilda confessed suddenly.

"Your brother?" Dimitri echoed.

"Yeah." Hilda leaned on the railing, staring out at the night sky. "He's strong, handsome, smart, charming, nice, everything. It wouldn't be a stretch to call him perfect."

"I... remind you of someone like that...?" 

Hilda turned her head towards him, moonlight softly illuminating a sad smile.

"You do. In both the good and the bad ways," Hilda said. "Because, my brother, well, he always tries so hard to meet everyone's expectations, you know? He tries so hard and gets so crushed when he disappoints people, even though he's already trying his best..."

When she looked back at him, a troubled expression was on his face.

"That's why I get worried about you," Hilda admitted. "You seem like the type to force yourself to become what other people want, even if you don't want anything to do with it."

(Dimitri's eyes widened, and for a moment, he wondered if she saw them too. The ghosts following his very move, whispering their wishes into his ear.

Then, Hilda started to speak again, and Dimitri focused on the sound of her voice.)

"...right now, what you're doing is enough. You're doing fine, so don't worry! It's enough to just... be yourself and relax and all that, okay?" Hilda told him.

She let out an embarrassed laugh, suddenly a bit self-conscious.

"I guess what I'm really trying to say is, well. I'm on your side. Whether you decide to trust me or not, I'll be supporting you."

Dimitri hesitated, before giving her a slight smile.

"Thank you, Hilda. It... makes me happy to hear you say that," Dimitri said. "But..."

"But?" Hilda echoed.

"I simply had a nightmare," Dimitri told her. "That's all."

Hilda had the sneaking suspicion that that was _not_ all, because if a nightmare was as small of a deal as he was making it seem, he probably would have just stayed in his room and tried to go back to sleep.

But she didn't want to outright call him out on it. She wasn't entitled to hear all his deepest fears and thoughts.

"That's fine," Hilda replied. "It's fun talking to you, so... even if it's pretty sad, I'll be okay with listening to you." 

Dimitri sighed.

"You seem to have a knack for seeing right through me..." he said. He stepped forward and leaned on the railing next to her, keeping his eyes downcast. 

"It was a dream about the people I've lost," Dimitri confessed. "I saw them die, while I was once again powerless to stop it..."

Hilda realized something, then. And she felt _stupid_ for not realizing sooner.

She knew that Faerghus didn't have a king. If pressed, she could probably say that his assassination also took out other important members of the kingdom, but that information... well, it just didn't affect her most of the time. She forgot the news of the tragedy, because it just didn't involve her.

But that distance meant that she didn't make the connection between Faerghus being kingless and Dimitri being _fatherless_. 

She didn't know what to say, really.

_"I'm sorry," "it must have been hard," "there there," "it's going to be okay,"_ they all seemed so worthless...

So Hilda said, "but that's a dream. That's the past, and you're right here, right now."

And then she backtracked, because that was probably a terrible thing to say.

"I'm not telling you not to be sad or anything, but...!" Hilda hesitated, feeling like saying _'you're alive right now, so you should let go of the past and enjoy it,' _would only make things worse. "But it's fun spending time with you. I'm glad that you're alive. So, if I can help you, or if you just want to talk to someone, or if you want to relax, you can talk to me."

She didn't know if that was the right thing to say. She didn't even know if there _was_ a right thing to say.

But she wanted him to know that he wasn't alone.

"Thank you, Hilda," Dimitri said simply. "I... well, I'm not quite ready to share that story yet, but I appreciate it."

"No worries," Hilda replied. "Take your time. I won't think of you any differently if you confide in me, okay?"

"Really... thank you."

Hilda felt herself smile.

She felt like maybe... maybe Dimitri would be okay.

There were people around him to support him and care for him, so he would be okay.

That kind of thought made her feel calm. 

The wind blew past them, and she asked, "hey, do you know any stories about the stars?"

"I'm afraid I don't," Dimitri answered, finally looking out at the sky like she wanted him to. 

"Me neither," Hilda admitted.

With a dreamy kind of lilt to her voice, as if she weren’t quite paying attention to her own words, Hilda went on,

“I don’t actually pay much attention to the stories about the stars. I know the story of the goddess and her star, but that’s about it, really. But, it’s still really pretty, isn’t it?”

Her gaze went up to the night sky above.

”Makes me feel small, in a good kind of way. Like, all my worries about the future, everything I worried about in the past, none of it matters right now. It's so pretty that I can't think of anything but this moment, or something like that.”

And Dimitri stared. And Dimitri understood.

“You’re right,” Dimitri told her. His eyes were on her figure, her smile illuminated by the moon and the stars. “It’s beautiful.”


	17. Chapter 17

"That was a great meal, princess!" Claude exclaimed happily as they left the restaurant. "Thank you oh-so-kindly for your kindness."

"Hmph, well, I'm glad you liked it," Edelgard said, though she was a bit miffed.

Claude had carefully kept their conversation away from topics like him becoming her partner (in reforming the world) and her interest in him (and his skills.) So, the entire conversation had mostly been about trivial topics such as school, the friends they had made, upcoming events, and the food. 

Her only consolation was that Claude had asked plenty of questions about her, meaning that he held a certain interest in her (offer)!

Edelgard's eyes caught fire as she resolved herself to either turn Claude and Hilda into allies or destroy them as enemies. 

Claude laughed, and for a moment, she feared he had already read her intentions. No, this was Claude. He probably saw through her intentions the moment she invited him to dinner.

"I had fun," Claude told her. "My high expectations have been met."

"You had such expectations of me?" Edelgard asked.

"Of course! After seeing all the effort you put into it, I couldn't help but get excited!" Claude declared. "I mean, you didn't just get info on my fav foods from Teach, you also got me those flowers!"

"H-huh?! How did you find out about me asking them...?!"

"Oooh, a guy's gotta have his secrets," Claude said in an unnecessarily cryptic way, because Byleth had just up and informed him without any action taken on his part. 

Edelgard immediately took that as a sign that Claude was even more dangerous than the professor, which only made her more determined to recruit him. If she didn't have him as an ally, he would probably be her most dangerous enemy!

"Intriguing," Edelgard said with a smile that could be (and was) interpreted as flirtatious. "Will I ever get the chance to unravel them?"

"Heh, we'll see about that, princess," Claude answered. "How about next time, I show you one of my favourite spots?"

Edelgard's eyes lit up at the invitation, the thought that she was _getting somewhere_ with him.

Though, of course, she quickly cleared her throat, hiding a polite grin behind her hand.

"I'll look forward to it," she replied. 

And then Garreg Mach's walls jutted out before them, the lanterns of patrolling guards lighting up some of the shadows in town.

The two of them immediately took cover behind a nearby house, peeking out as they watched the lights go by.

"Though, before we do that, we'll have to get inside before anyone catches us out after curfew," Claude said. "I'd hate for this lovely evening to end on such a sour note."

"We won't get caught," Edelgard promised. "There's a large crack in the walls behind the greenhouse. You'll have to struggle a bit due to your size, but as long as we can avoid the guards' gazes, we will make it back inside."

"Heh, I do pride myself on always getting myself out of tight situations," Claude remarked, internally filing away a question of _'why do you know this' _for later. "So, are we sneaking by, doing a distraction, what?"

Edelgard summoned fire in her hand.

"Woah, okay, let's not do that," Claude said quickly. 

"What? We're close enough to a pond, they'll be able to extinguish it."

Claude didn't even know how to react to that, so he simply said, "we're hiding in the shadows, but your _ball of fire_ is not helping. Plus, they're gonna be able to see where it came from!"

Edelgard nodded, seeing his point as she extinguished the flames.

Of course, this led Edelgard to believe that his problem with arson as a distraction was only strategical, and not him, you know, having a problem with wanton arson.

"What would you suggest, then?" Edelgard asked.

Claude paused, looking their surroundings over.

"Random question, how good at you at acting?" Claude asked.

* * *

"I can't believe you! Telling me that I'm the only one, when you had so many other girls under your thumb! Die!"

"Gah—! Shit, that's- Oof! Dammit, woman, will you stop fucking hitting me for a second—?!"

"No! Give me back the pieces of my broken heart, asshole!" 

Something large crashed against the ground. Small, metal objects jingled.

"I'm leaving you! Repent on your actions!"

"Hey! That's my wallet! Dammit bitch, I'll kill you!"

That last bit was very, very loud. Loud enough for a concerned guard to check out the disturbance.

He followed the source of the voices, noticing some scattered coins and faint footsteps leading away from the monastery.

He did not notice the pair of teenagers rushing out of the bushes and running for the wall.

Edelgard went first, showing Claude the crack in the wall and how to duck through it. She went first and then pulled him through.

The two of them collapsed on the ground, chests heaving from their sudden sprint and adrenaline.

And then Claude started to snicker.

"What?" Edelgard asked.

"_'Give me back the pieces of my broken heart'_? Are you a poet or something?"

"I-it was your idea!" Edelgard said defensively, before she remembered the late hour and rule-breaking. She quieted down, adding, "and besides, you seemed much more into your role than I was."

"What can I say?" Claude replied. "I might have been born for the stage."

Edelgard let out a sigh that could have been a laugh, but could have also been tired.

"Well, it's probably about time we retire for the night. Thank you for accepting my invitation," she said as she stood, dusting off her legs.

"No, thank you for inviting me. I definitely wouldn't mind doing it again."

Edelgard could hardly repress her smile as they ascended the dormitory stairs together.

Just as they reached her room and Edelgard prepared to say her goodbyes, Claude spoke up.

"Ooh, before I forget," Claude whispered secretively, reaching into his pocket. "My apologies if it's a bit flattened and crumpled, your majesty."

Edelgard stared with wide eyes as he presented her a flower.

"I could only grab one from the greenhouse before I got caught, but I hope it's a good enough reply," Claude said.

Edelgard took the flower with anxious fingers. In the darkness, she couldn't make out its shape or colour...!

"Thank you," Edelgard said with a smile.

"Good night, sweet dreams, and see you in the morning, princess," Claude told her as he walked off.

Edelgard waited until he had put a significant distance between them, then rushed into her room.

As quietly as she could manage, she shut her door, grabbed a book, and lit a candle. 

She flipped through the pages of her borrowed book on flower symbolism, coming to a stop on one page. She compared the flower in her hand to the illustration and found a match...!

"_'A solid carnation means an acceptance to an implied question,'" _Edelgard mouthed the words, her heart swelling with hope.

"Yes...! It's happening!" she told herself excitedly, though she still took care to say it quietly. "It worked out!"

And well, she was trying to be quiet. But, even when you were trying to be quiet, in a dorm with thin walls, it was really hard to not overhear things. Especially if you were next-door neighbours.

_'Holy shit,' _Hilda thought as she laid on her bed. She and Dimitri had returned moments before Claude and Edelgard did, and she had been _trying_ to sleep, but...!

_'Edelgard is actually really into Claude!' _Hilda realized. _'That's the only explanation!'_


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you realize that one of my friends specifically challenged me to include as much shoujo as possible in this chapter

"It seems that there might be a new knightly couple around here," Ingrid said to Ashe in a dramatic stage whisper.

"Isn't it incredible? When her strength and his wit are combined, they will never fall!" Ashe replied.

"Guys, I'm right here," Claude said, because they were in the dining hall, having lunch.

"Don't forget that they snuck out together, had dinner, and came back oh so _very_ late in the night," Hilda added.

"Eh? Are you Sylvain?" Ingrid asked.

"Huh?" Sylvain looked over in confusion, as Claude scoffed, offended.

"What seems to be the problem here?" Edelgard asked as she walked in, Hubert at her side.

"Oh, nothing, just some gossipy hens, pecking away at whatever scraps of info they can get on our date," Claude answered as she sat down next to him.

Edelgard didn't even react to the fact that he called it a date, because she thought he was teasing her again. Meanwhile, everyone else thought that the reason she didn't react was because it _was_ a date.

Hilda smiled at the sight of everyone eating together, only to notice the conspicuous absences at the table. 

She looked around, spotting Dedue heading to the kitchen.

Without a second thought, she went to follow him.

* * *

"Dimitri's sick?" 

"I'm not sure," Dedue answered, mixing together a nice warm stew. "His Highness was a bit feverish and he didn't seem to have slept at all last night, but he insists he is fine. I'm making this for him as a precaution."

Hilda felt a mix of concern, anger, and a bit of guilt, because on one hand, him giving her his cloak could have contributed to his possible illness, but on the other hand...

_'"Faerghus is much colder, this is nothing," my ass!'_

"So, is... is he resting right now?" Hilda asked, wondering if maybe she could help Dedue care for him—

"No. He's training."

"What. Why," Hilda asked flatly. "Why would you let him do that?!"

"I cannot force him to rest," Dedue said simply.

"Oh hell yes you can!" Hilda screamed. "Argh, hold on! I'll drag him to his room!"

"Hold on, what are you going to do to His Highness—"

"I'm going to make him stop being an idiot!" Hilda exclaimed, before turning to run.

Dedue was so concerned.

Claude exchanged a look with Ashe and Ingrid. Ashe went to take care of the stew so Dedue could chase after Hilda. Ingrid pulled Mercedes away from a conversation with Ignatz about art of the saints to go to the training hall. Claude went and borrowed a quill from Linhardt and paper from Lysithea, then rushed off.

Edelgard and Hubert were stunned by the seamless leadership and communication between the three.

Hubert swore to learn to interpret Edelgard's glances just like that. Edelgard swore that, the moment she next ran into Claude, she would either learn from him or join forces with him.

Except Ashe and Ingrid, well.

_'Claude promised to write down everything that happened that we might miss!' _Ashe thought as he stirred the stew.

_'There's no way we could resist a "taking care of the sick" scene like in The Tale of the Masked Knight!' _Ingrid thought as she helpfully grabbed a bowl for the stew in advance.

* * *

Dimitri had been hacking and slashing his night terrors away. The movement, the burning of his muscles helped to distract him from his thoughts. 

He was so fixated on forgetting that he didn't even hear the rushing footsteps...

"Your Highness, _look out_——!"

Dimitri reacted too late. A pigtailed flurry of pink rushed in and kicked the practice lance out of his hands. The spear fell to the floor, broken into pieces.

"Why are you training if you're sick, idiot?!" Hilda demanded, stomping towards Dimitri. "If the cold and lack of rest didn't make you sick, the exercise _will!"_

Dimitri instinctively backed away, trying to stammer out a "no, I'm not sick, please don't worry," but then Hilda grabbed his collar and yanked him down to her eye level.

Dedue rushed to keep Hilda from punching Dimitri in the face. Unfortunately, Hilda was not attempting to punch Dimitri in the face. In fact, she then gently took his face in her hands, and pressed her forehead to his.

Dedue slowed down to a very confused stop. 

"Dimitri, your face is _burning up!" _Hilda exclaimed.

Dimtiri's answer was a sputtered-out "what are you doing."

"Checking your temperature," Hilda said as she pulled her face away. She was so casual about the matter because that was how she was always cared for if she was sick at home. "Urgh, look, your face is bright red!"

"Th-that... I...."

"You are going back to your room and sleeping! No protesting!" Hilda exclaimed.

And then, right in front of a baffled Dedue, she lifted Dimitri into her arms in a bridal carry. 

"W-wait, what, n-no, what are you _doing_?!"

"Getting you in bed!"

Mercedes passed by them as she made her way into the training hall, blatantly staring at the scene.

"So... are there any injuries for me to take care of?" Mercedes asked.

"Quit struggling, Dimitri! I might drop you!"

"...it's a definite possibility," Dedue answered.

* * *

Mercedes kindly got the door for Hilda so she could carry Dimitri into his room. Dedue had very little idea how to react, because on one hand, Dimitri wasn't ordering him to stop Hilda, plus this was a girl Dimitri was fond of, but on the other hand, it was very likely that Dimitri's dignity wouldn't survive the day.

(And, well, somewhere deep down, he knew that letting Dimitri go on like that couldn't be good for him, but Dedue was too loyal to even consider defying Dimitri.)

"Okay, first of all, you need to change your clothes!" Hilda exclaimed, carefully dumping Dimitri on his bed.

"What?!" Dimitri demanded.

"You can't rest in sweaty clothes! You need to get changed!"

"Oh, I think I have some medicinal tea in my room," Mercedes said, completely oblivious to the mood. "Shall I grab it?"

Hilda nodded, and Mercedes went off.

"Dedue, could you grab Dimitri some clothes please?" Hilda asked, because she didn't want to go through Dimitri's drawers.

Dedue nodded.

"I'm _fine_," Dimitri insisted, "it's not even an illness!"

"Dimitri, you are not staying in those clothes," Hilda retorted. "You are going to take them off, or they will be taken off for you."

So, in the hallway, Ingrid was approaching Dimitri's door, because she was carrying the recently-finished stew.

Of course the moment Ingrid got close enough to Dimitri's room to hear anything was the exact moment Hilda said that.

Ingrid completely froze, because the door was closed and Dedue wasn't saying anything, so she had no idea that she hadn't overheard two people alone in a bedroom, with one telling the other to take off his clothes or have them taken off for him.

Ingrid wound up giving the stew to a confused Mercedes, because she was not going near that room. She was not going to see her childhood friend doing anything of the sort.

The people inside Dimitri's room were completely unaware of Ingrid's internal screaming. Hilda had actually sat in the corner with her back turned as Dimitri reluctantly changed.

Mercedes dropped off the tea, the stew, and the necessary utensils for having both, before coming up with the great idea to make Dimitri some more snacks for later.

"Uh huh, that sounds like a great idea!" Hilda said.

"Dedue's been teaching me well, so I'll do great!" Mercedes exclaimed, and Dedue nodded.

And then...

"Oh, I know! I'll show what I learned to Annie!" Mercedes decided, making the other three flinch. "That way, we can both improve our cooking!"

"Mercedes _no_—!"

Unfortunately, Mercedes had already ran out of the room.

Dedue seemed very distressed, looking between Hilda, Dimitri, and the door frantically. Then, he made a decision.

"I am entrusting His Highness' safety to you!" Dedue declared, rushing after Mercedes to keep Dimitri from being _poisoned. _

"That was the nicest thing he's ever said to me," Hilda said. She grinned as she turned to Dimitri, holding up the stew. "Can't let him down, right?"

"Hilda, do you really need to make such a fuss over me?" Dimitri asked.

"Of course I do!" Hilda exclaimed, pulling his desk chair up to his bed. "I'm not going to sit back and let you destroy your body!"

Dimitri's eyes widened, as Hilda lifted the lid off the container of stew. 

"Now, Dimitri~" Hilda called out sweetly, grabbing a spoon from Mercedes' thoughtful bundle of materials. She got a spoonful of stew and smiled. "Open wide, okay?"

"I-I can feed myself!" Dimitri protested, blushing.

"Yeah, but..." Hilda deflated a bit, eyes downcast as she said, "I kinda feel like it's my fault, you know? Like, I'm the reason you gave up your cloak, so I should take extra good care of you to make up for it. I don't want you to keep getting hurt because of me."

Dimitri hesitated, her words resonating with a part of him...

And then he relented.

"Just this once."

That brought the smile back to her face.

"Alright! Say ah~!"

Hilda was happier as the stew gradually disappeared. Not enough to erase the nagging voice in her head telling her that she kept screwing up, first with his arm, now with his health, but enough to make her feel like she had helped.

She had laid a damp cloth over his forehead, then started talking by his bedside.

First it was about Edelgard and Claude, then it was gossip she heard. Apparently Sylvain and Caspar had an argument the other day. Lysithea, Annette, and Cyril were studying together and it was adorable. Bernadetta managed to last longer outside her room, Raphael said.

Stuff like that.

She talked about anything and everything that popped into her head, as Dimitri's responses grew quieter and quieter, until he stopped responding at all.

"Good night, Dimitri," she told his sleeping face. "Have peaceful dreams, okay?"

* * *

By the time Dedue had successfully stopped Mercedes and Annette from burning down the kitchen, Hilda had fallen asleep too.

She still sat on his chair, but she had leaned forward until her torso reached Dimitri's bed, her crossed arms making a pillow for her head. Actually, upon closer inspection, it seemed like she had unintentionally rested her head upon his lap.

Dedue would have tried to wake them, but...

Dimitri had a peaceful smile on his face as he slept.

Dedue decided to simply leave them be.

(The next day, Hilda got a note thanking her for helping the prince rest.)


	19. Chapter 19

The sound of weapons clashing against each other rang out in the training hall.

Most people had learned that Hilda + Dimitri + Training Hall = Property Damage by now, but Hilda and Dimitri weren't the ones fighting. They got banned from sparring until the walls were reinforced or Professor Byleth got there. Whichever one came first.

(Professor Byleth and Jeralt were the only ones definitely capable of _surviving_ getting between the two of them. That said, Jeralt often had a mission to do, while Byleth seemed to have a knack for getting there just in time to prevent major damage.)

No, the two of them were watching a brawl between Claude and Edelgard. 

The two were fighting with axes, and they got quite the crowd. Meaning, uh, actually everyone in their classes.

"Go, Edelgard!" Hilda screamed.

"You're a Deer!" Claude protested, dodging a swing from Edelgard.

"Looks like I've stolen away your lieutenant, Claude. What else should I take from you?" Edelgard asked in a smug tone that could be (and _was_) interpreted as flirtatious. "Your dignity? Your loyalty (and service)?"

"Argh, I didn't realize how effective this distraction (flirting) during a fight tactic was until now...!" Claude said, fighting to repress a blush. "Enough! Let's just settle this!"

"Fine by me!"

The two charged at each other, as Dimitri went to whisper to Hilda.

"Are you really cheering for Edelgard?" he asked.

"I love Claude and all, but there are some times I just want to see him get hit with a giant wooden axe," Hilda replied casually.

"Uh, love?" Dimitri echoed, staring with wide eyes.

"Oh, not like that!" Hilda rushed to correct. "I mean, Claude is taken! And even if he wasn't..."

Hilda paused, because she had to mentally consult her checklist of desired traits in a partner.

Claude was from a good family, huh.

He was easy on the eyes.

She knew he was a good man, despite his scheming.

....huh.

"I... don't have any objections to dating him, actually," Hilda said, leaving out the part where this was only in a world where she managed to gather up romantic feelings for him, because she couldn't imagine their relationship being romantic at all unless alternate universes were involved.

Now, this duel between the two axe-wielders was treated as a class spectacle, and a spectacle required snacks and drinks. The reason this was important was because Ashe was sitting close enough to the pair to hear this, and immediately started choking on his popcorn.

Felix, sitting next to him, immediately did what he could to make sure Ashe didn't die. This involved hitting Ashe in the back really really hard.

(This is absolutely not how you help someone who is choking and still coughing.)

It worked, somehow. The popcorn left Ashe's throat and fell onto the floor.

But in the process, Ashe's body had been propelled forward, and to avoid losing his balance, Ashe grabbed onto the nearest thing he could.

Which was Felix.

Ashe accidentally wound up hugging Felix's arm to his chest. 

"I see, so the sarcastic knight and his admirer apprentice," Ingrid said immediately. 

"Can't I at least be a fellow knight?!" Ashe protested.

And then Felix spoke up.

"You... don't have a problem being paired with me?" Felix asked, because he knew Ingrid was an unstoppable force of nature when she wanted to. If she decided they were ending up together, they were ending up together.

"No, not really," Ashe replied, because Ingrid was incapable of scaring him. Honestly, if she carved up a pathway of destruction during battle, he would probably wind up applauding her.

This response, though it made Felix blush (VERY SLIGHTLY), seemed to be the wrong one, because Felix's answer was, "well I do. Get off."

Felix's main problem was that they were in public and people (Sylvain) could see. And those people (Sylvain) would tease them. And Felix would get in trouble for throwing those people (Sylvain) in the fishing pond. 

Claude was busy flirt-fighting with Edelgard at the moment, but he would definitely have things to say about the situation when Ingrid and Ashe told him. And the first thing would be, _'Hilda, what the fuck?'_

* * *

“I know what Hilda’s standards are, but there’s gotta be more than that,” Claude said, looking over a paper with Ashe and Ingrid. “What would a girl want in a romantic relationship?”

Ashe wordlessly gestured to Ingrid, who was a girl. 

“I, um, don’t think I’ll be very helpful?!” Ingrid said in a panic, because this was about Hilda's feelings for a guy and she was having feelings for a girl.

”Listen, literally anything would help right now,” Claude replied.

”Then, er... someone you can... hold... in your arms...” Ingrid offered, blushing. Ashe patted her on the shoulder comfortingly.

”Ashe, what about you?” Claude asked, and then it was Ashe’s turn to blush.

”Uh,” Ashe paused, because he accidentally remembered the strength of Felix’s arm. “Muscles.”

Claude paused.

Ashe covered his bright red face with both hands. Ingrid was whispering comforting words to him as she patted his back.

”We need to get Dimitri’s shirt off in front of Hilda. The dude is _ripped_.”

“No, we don’t,” Ingrid replied instantly. “We really do not need to do that.”

“Plan B, then?” Claude said.

”What’s Plan B?” Ashe asked, because he hadn’t even realized there _was_ a Plan B.

Claude excused himself from the table and ran out of the Golden Deer classroom. Ingrid and Ashe overheard the sound of a conversation just outside.

”Oh! Princess! I was looking for you, didn’t expect to see you so soon!”

”For me? What for?”

”What do you want in a (romantic) partner—?”

”You.”

”W-wait no _um_—“

”Oh, was that too blunt? I thought that was a (business) proposition.”

”No... I meant the traits that you would... like...”

“Cunning, upper arm strength, witty—“

”Princess _please_—“

”I think Claude might be dying,” Ashe said.

”No, let’s leave them to their flirting,” Ingrid replied, already writing Edelgard’s list down.

”Won’t you take my hand (and forge a new world with me)?”

”_PRINCESS PLEASE_—“

* * *

"What's this?" Hilda asked as Claude handed her a sheet of paper.

"I'm helping you figure out your options," Claude said.

"Options for _what_," Hilda asked flatly.

"Oh, you know, guys and romance," Claude answered. "Love and hearts and such, you know?"

Hilda scanned through the paper's contents. There was a list of names, set next to lines for an answer. At the top of the page, there were a few things written.

_'Comes from a good family', 'Good looks', 'Good heart', _and _'Would take care of you.'_

Hilda quickly realized that she would fill in the lines with a checkmark for whether or not the person would fit that criteria. 

The names were in reverse alphabetical order by last names. Hilda looked up to ask Claude why he had even included himself in the list if he had crossed out everything and filled in his lines with "sorry, best friends only!", but he was already gone.

Hilda just shrugged and decided not to bother questioning it. It actually did seem helpful, even if it was either a roundabout way to confirm that they were platonic friends only or a way to reassure Edelgard that he would never cheat. So, why not try it?

And then she realized that the first option was Hubert.

...

Good family, creepy looks, his heart was full of malice and Edelgard, and uh, he probably wouldn't take care of anyone not named Edelgard. No.

Then it was Claude, who already crossed himself out. Hilda wrote a quick affirmation of his words of friendship.

von Hevring, Linhardt, good family, not too bad on the eyes, fellow lazy person, but this meant that he wouldn't take care of her. Pass.

von Bergliez, Caspar. Good family, kinda cute, nice, but loud. So, maybe? Not really, but maybe.

von Aegir, Ferdinand, good family, pretty okay in looks, he seemed pretty good as a person, but Hilda didn't know him that well. Plus, wasn't he tea buddies with Lorenz? She would feel like she was stealing Ferdinand from the guy. Pass.

Hilda wondered why there were so many _'von_' names in the school, but then she hit Ignatz. Who, well, was a commoner.

She thought it over a bit, absentmindedly considering her options. Yeah, she _could_ probably live off of her money, even if she married a commoner, yeah, he _was_ cute, yeah, he _was_ nice, but would she really want to? She had fun talking to him about art sometimes, but that wasn't really enough to make her _want_ to date him. They'd be better off as art buddies or something. Pass.

Ubert, Ashe, well. He was adopted into a noble family, but the head... he would need someone to help him run the house. Even if he was cute and sweet, Hilda couldn't help him like that. Pass.

Molinaro, Dedue. Huh, wasn't he a commoner? But, he was paid pretty well, probably... but he was devoted to serving Dimitri, so would he even have enough time to take care of her? She didn't want him to overwork himself or anything, so pass.

Kirsten, Raphael. Oh, he was a commoner too. That wasn't a point against him, but well. Raphael was boisterous. Loud. Excitable. Hilda liked that in a friend, but in a partner... no, no thank you. Pass.

Gloucester, Lorenz. No. Pass. 

Gautier, Sylvain. Good family, kinda hot, but he was a playboy. She would flirt with him, maybe, but trust him with anything more? Nope. Pass.

Fraldarius, Felix. Sure, he was from a good family and all, but his personality? No thanks. Pass.

And then Hilda came to the final name on the list.

Blaiddyd, Dimitri.

...eh?

Hilda's eyes widened at the name, reading it again until it sunk in. Dimitri? The crown prince, Dimitri? Leader of the Blue Lions, Dimitri? Her relaxing buddy, Dimitri?

Trying to calm herself down, Hilda tried to act normal. He was included because he was also a boy. It was fine.

He was a good guy. He would treat her well. He was attractive.

But he was the crown prince to a nation that desperately needed a king.

Hilda wouldn't be a good queen. She would just--

_"Say no such things about yourself!"_

She wasn't _suited_ to being someone so important--

_"You're putting yourself down too much."_

No, she just wasn't _good enough_\--

_"I don't understand why you're so insistent on calling yourself weak and helpless."_

_"Hilda, do you not realize how incredibly strong you are?"_

Hilda violently grabbed the paper and flipped it over. She slammed it on the table, unwilling to think on it anymore.

She was stunned to find that there was writing on the back. 

_'Read this when you think you've got someone who can fit all your standards!'_ the writing said.

She gulped as she scanned the rest. Her heartbeat was...

_"Could you imagine yourself hugging him?"_

...she could. But, because of their height difference, she would be resting her head against his chest.

Picking it up with both hands, she held the paper closer to her face. That way, she could seem busy and hide her blush.

_"Do you feel safe and comfortable around him?"_

...she could relax around him.

_"Do you ever admire his figure?"_

Sometimes, Hilda thought he was rather tall, rather striking. Sometimes, the shine of his hair caught her eye...

_"Is he cute in your eyes?" _

Hilda heard her own voice in her mind, calling Dimitri cute, awkward, and endearing.

_"Do you want to hold his hand?"_

And, well, it was shocking how easily Hilda's mind had made the jump from imagining them walking side-by-side to walking side-by-side and hand-in-hand.

Hilda's blush only intensified when she realized what the last two questions were.

_"Do you want to kiss him?"_

_"Do you want to sleep with--"_

"Hilda."

Hilda jumped, a scream leaving her lips as she accidentally tore the paper in half.

She turned around, showing a nervous smile to the person behind her.

"H-hey! Don't do that! You scared me!"

"I apologize," Dimitri said, and Hilda's face froze. "I had been sent to fetch you from the classroom."

Hilda immediately mentally blamed Claude for this.

"Oh... alright," Hilda said, standing from her seat. "Should we go?"

"What about your paper?" Dimitri asked.

Hilda laughed, before taking the halves and ripping them into even smaller pieces. Then, she crushed the tiny pieces in her fist. 

"It's just a worthless love letter from some guy that only wants me for my looks and money," Hilda lied easily. "I'll drop it in the trash bin as we leave."

Dimitri seemed to accept this as an answer, and they left. Hilda did drop the paper in the trash bin as they left, but...

If she wound up staring a bit at Dimitri's hand as they walked, well, no one but her would realize that she was only trying to act normal! Everything was fine! Really!

* * *

**Bonus:**

"S-Someone I can feel safe around," Bernadetta had said.

"Muscles," Dorothea had answered.

"I'm not going to answer such a stupid— alright alright, stop that! Fine! ...I... if they're... earnest." Felix froze as Sylvain asked if earnest was another word for cute in the background. Ingrid took Felix's reply as a yes.

"Sleep together," Linhardt had said, because his idea of _'taking a nap together' _had not gone through enough mental filters by the time it left his mouth.

With the reports of most of the students, the trio did their best.

"Should we include girls?" Ashe asked.

"I'm writing this by hand," Ingrid retorted. "My hand will fall off if we include that many names."

"Sorry my handwriting sucks," Claude said.

The three were very meticulous about their process.

"Okay, so for emotional impact, his name should be last," Claude said. "Maybe reverse alphabetical order?" 

"Ferdinand von Aegir," Ashe replied.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"'_von'_ names go in the V section!" Claude decided.


	20. Chapter 20

Hilda didn't have more time to think about how she didn't like Dimitri that way. One day, they were setting out for their missions, everyone saying their goodbyes, and the next, Flayn was missing.

Hilda threw herself into the search eagerly. She ran around the school, asked around, followed up on rumours, everything.

So, when she overheard what seemed like a serious conversation in the training hall, she already knew to hide and eavesdrop rather than interrupt. Interrupting meant possibly missing out on important info.

"Your Majesty, I know this is, well, impolite and all, but you can't possibly be planning on sneaking out with Claude in town again!" Leonie exclaimed. "I mean, Flayn is _missing!_ She's probably been kidnapped by that Death Knight from the rumours!"

"I appreciate your concern," Edelgard replied, "but that's just a rumour. We can't assume anything. I was going to search in town, and Claude agreed to accompany me."

"Your Majesty..."

"If that is all, I will take my leave."

Hilda stayed silent as the sound of footsteps grew further away.

That wasn't good.

In fact, that was actually terrible. Hilda absolutely was not going to let anyone else do anything stupid and get kidnapped. No.

So, Hilda did the logical thing and schemed.

Being friends with Claude had meant that she was familiar with the ideas behind scheming. First, you had to decide upon your goal and the method you'd use to achieve it. Second, you had to figure out the obstacles in your way. Then, you had to balance getting rid of the obstacles with advancing towards that goal.

Her goal was to make sure no one was getting kidnapped. Her method was gathering everyone into one place. The obstacles in the way...

...would be any tension between classmates. 

Any animosity, any rivalries, any unsolved romantic tension would ruin everything.

Hilda took in a deep breath, sighed it out, and decided to face the facts. She had to face something very uncomfortable and terrible. For everyone's good.

She had to help Caspar and Sylvain make up after their argument. Obviously.

The only other thing she could think of that fit the description of "animosity, rivalry, or unsolved romantic tension" would be Edelgard and Claude's beating around the bush, and that was only because Edelgard flustered the archer too much for him to say yes. That didn't even _count_ as tension.

So, Hilda set about doing just that.

* * *

"How should I know?" Caspar asked. "One second I was asking him whether or not he was okay fighting his brother, the next, he was angry and asking me all about why my life seemed to be so easy... I kinda forgot what he asked though. He acts like everything is fine now, but I think he just got angrier after the mission. If I did something wrong, shouldn't he just tell me?!"

* * *

"Sylvain said that the argument started because Caspar stole all the ladies' attention in the training hall, but that's not true at all!" Mercedes exclaimed. "I know that Sylvain isn't the type to get jealous if someone gets a lot of attention, but he won't tell me why it actually started... Maybe ask one of his childhood friends?"

* * *

"His movements when training have been more frenzied lately," Felix recounted. "I thought he might be developing a taste for blood just like the boar prince, but that might not be it."

"If you call Dimitri a boar one more time, I'm going to flip you into the pavement," Hilda said with a smile, terrifying Felix immensely.

* * *

Then, when Hilda was looking for someone else in the courtyard, she got called upon by Claude.

"Hilda, Hilda, Hilda, were you really going to enact some sort of plan without me?" Claude asked with a huge grin.

"Of course not!" Hilda replied. "I just needed some info first."

"Um," Marianne said, because she was in the area. "W-why is there someone sticking out of the ground--"

"Marianne! Do you wanna help too?" Hilda asked with a huge grin. 

"H-huh?! Me!?"

"Yeah! You'll be great!" Hilda exclaimed.

"Why is Felix sticking out of the ground?" Dimitri asked, and Hilda froze.

"Oh, yeah, I was hanging out with Dimitri before, mind if I bring him along?" Claude asked, and Hilda knew he did this on purpose.

"Absolutely not!" Hilda declared, because screw you, Claude. She didn't have feelings for Dimitri. In fact, just look at how much she did not have feelings for Dimitri—

Claude looked on as Hilda grabbed Dimitri's hand in both of hers. Hilda was excitedly chattering about how Dimitri being involved was perfect! She would tell him and Marianne and Claude her ideas right away!

(Hilda was internally boasting to herself. Look! She was holding Dimitri's hand, and she wasn't even blushing! She was acting as normally as ever!)

(Hilda completely failed to realize that Dimitri was stunned and trying to repress a blush, something Claude was internally _cackling_ at.)

* * *

Dimitri's description of Sylvain was that Sylvain was a good person, but, his relationship with his brother had always been strained... because Miklan lacked the Crest that Sylvain had had since birth, Miklan had been disowned and became vengeful.

"Though, Sylvain remains silent on what happened during the mission with the Black Eagles..." Dimitri concluded.

Hilda nodded along, thinking she had an idea of what happened.

Caspar was the second son of a noble house, but he didn't have a Crest. Though Hilda didn't know much about Caspar's older brother, Caspar didn't seem to have a problem with his big brother at all.

And Caspar himself... he was free. He had never been expected to become heir to his family name, he could chase after whatever dreams he wanted...

_'Sylvain was probably jealous that Caspar had never gone through suffering because of Crests... plus, Caspar is pretty blunt and tactless. He might have accidentally said something to set Sylvain off.'_

It probably wouldn't have been easy, but... she would do her best to help them. Along with her friends!

* * *

There was a loud crash in the empty reception hall, as boxes toppled to the floor.

"O-oh, I'm sorry...! Are you okay?!" Marianne asked, rushing to the side of the person she had crashed into.

"Ack, yeah, what about you?" Caspar returned the question, recovering quickly. He looked around for what had fallen, only to pause. "Why are you carrying so much alone? This is way too much, isn't it?!"

Marianne's answer was a quiet, "um... some people left their work to me. I was going to deliver those to the teachers, then clean the stables, then mop the floors..."

"No, isn't that too much?!"

"I don't m-mind... I'm happy if I can help. Usually I just mess things up..." Marianne's expression darkened, as she whispered, "I really did inherit a Crest of misfortune..."

(That wasn't part of the plan. The plan was to have Sylvain pass by as Caspar was being nice and helping Marianne, so that Sylvain would realize that Caspar didn't mean anything bad and he really did just want to help.)

"Who cares what Crest you've got?!" Caspar demanded angrily. "That has nothing to do with people treating you like you don't have a backbone!"

"I-I'm sorry!"

"Don't apologize!" Caspar ordered. "I mean, you could have no Crest at all, and that still wouldn't justify a damn thing they've done to you!"

Caspar fumed as he got up and helped Marianne gather up the boxes. 

"The next time people wanna treat you badly 'cuz of a Crest, you oughta look 'em in the eye and tell 'em that they're not worth half of you!" Caspar declared.

Marianne's eyes widened in response.

And, behind the corner, Sylvain couldn't help but wonder.

If Caspar meant it, then...

No, he had to see whether or not Caspar was who he presented to the world, first. He had to make sure.

* * *

"I think we got off on the wrong foot," Sylvain said. "I mean, yeah, I was unreasonable. I want to make things up to you. Want to grab tea together?"

"Huh? Tea?" Caspar echoed.

"Yeah! I can't help but be interested in getting to know more about you, and what better way than tea?"

"I dunno, training?"

"...Is he hitting on Caspar?" Hilda asked.

"It's how he speaks to people he's not comfortable with," Dimitri replied, sipping from his tea.

They were spying from the tea tables, disguising their eavesdropping with tea cups and sweets.

It wasn't a date. It was not a date. Claude and Marianne were not there because it would look weird if it was a four person tea party at a two person table, Marianne was shy, and Claude couldn't be alone with anyone without worrying about Edelgard, probably?

There was a good reason for why it was the two of them in particular, really! Hilda just didn't know what it was, but it existed.

"So, this was simply you eliminating an obstacle to your plan, right?" Dimitri asked. "What is your end goal, exactly?"

Hilda smiled, resting her cheek in her hand as she propped her elbow on the table. 

"I want to have a sleepover!" she announced.

"A... sleepover?" Dimitri repeated.

"I mean, wouldn't it be fun? We could all spend time together, bond like we aren't divided into separate classes!" Hilda said, before a bit of sadness entered her expression. "We could keep an eye on each other, and keep each other safe. If we're all in the same place, we can't be disappearing, right?"

"You are very kind and thoughtful," Dimitri said earnestly. "I'm glad to have you here."

"Oh stop it, you'll make me blush!" Hilda replied. 

(Actually, she applied makeup just to make sure she wouldn't be seen blushing, _teehee_~!)

And then Professor Manuela emerged from the gazebo. What?

"Sorry, but I can't let you do that," Professor Manuela said as she walked straight towards them. "I very much can't allow that, despite your good intentions."

"Huh?! But, Professor—" 

Manuela shushed her protests, winking as she added, "there's no way all of you will fit in one room. We'll clear out the officer's room and the room next to it for you guys, alright?"

"Professor Manuela, you're the best!" Hilda exclaimed.

"Yes, yes, I know! Thank you very much!" 

At the sight of Hilda being energetic and happy again, Dimitri couldn't help but smile too.

* * *

"So, is there a reason why we're moving the furniture in this room?" Seteth asked as he set a table by the wall.

Manuela smiled casually as she sipped from her glass, having taken a break from moving things. She was seated on the table with one leg crossed over the other.

"Why, a student was going to host a sleepover, so I generously offered these two rooms to fit everyone," Manuela replied. "Wasn't it a lovely idea?"

Seteth paused.

"So, the reason I am here, spending valuable time moving these items when I could be searching for Flayn, is because you indulged some student's request for a sleepover?" Seteth asked, seething.

"Yes," Manuela answered. "After all, if the students are in one place, we can keep an eye on them easier. No one can reach them without passing our offices, nor can they leave without passing by us. It also keeps the dreadful mood from getting to them. If need be, one person alone can keep watch over them, meaning we can devote even more eyes and ears to the search."

Seteth's eyes widened, before he lowered his head.

"I apologize... I hadn't even considered that."

"You're beside yourself with worry," Manuela said, lifting her hand to pat Seteth's shoulder. "But we are all searching for Flayn. We'll find her."

Seteth sighed, still seeming stressed, but thankful.

"Don't worry," Manuela told him. "I've already narrowed down the list of suspects."

Manuela then finished her drink and hopped off the table.

"Well, have fun supervising!" Manuela said, already leaving the room.

"Wait, what do you mean—"

"I'm going to be a bit preoccupied, so please watch over the students!" Manuela asked. "Professor Byleth will be helping you! Just relax and remember to have fun! Toodles!"

And then she was gone.

Seteth... had absolutely no idea how to react to that.

Professor Byleth just walking in silently and carrying a table over their shoulder with one arm didn't help matters.


	21. What the fuck, Claude?

Hilda had been busy procuring materials for the activities, so she left organizing who went into what rooms to Claude. She let Marianne and Dimitri grab enough pillows and blankets for everyone, while the menu was left to Professor Byleth. Because _damn_, Professor Byleth had a knack for knowing everyone's favourite food.

But, anyways, the guest list.

Claude had done away with ideas like dividing people by gender or classes. Actually, his idea was probably terrible.

He had divided the students into two groups; the people that were either dark or serious or brooding or tended to hide away their true feelings, and the people who were much more open with their feelings, tended to be optimistic and smiled much more.

And this was terrible, because Claude was a human being, who, while intelligent and cunning, still made mistakes sometimes.

In this case, he fucked up completely by not putting Edelgard in the edgelord room. He put _himself_ in the edgelord room.

It couldn't even be explained by him wanting a pair of eyes and ears in the edgelord room. Lysithea was in there and she was easily bribed with sweets. Marianne was also in there. Dimitri was there too. There were so many spies he could have picked. 

No, Claude just genuinely thought that he belonged in the company of Hubert, Sylvain, and Felix, to name a few. Meanwhile, Edelgard was with Hilda, Ashe, Annette, Raphael, Mercedes... and Lorenz.

That's absolutely correct. Claude genuinely thought that Lorenz was a better fit for the sunshine room than him.

What the fuck, Claude?

This is a sentiment that will be repeated several times in this chapter, because, while Hilda had an actual sensible idea for activities in the sunshine room, neither Dimitri nor Marianne had any actual ideas for leisurely activities, making Claude have to come up with the plan.

He had everyone sit in a circle, put a glass bottle in the middle, and said that whoever the bottle landed on would be given two options. When they were done with their choice, they would spin and present the choice to the next unlucky sap.

That's right.

His idea was spin the bottle truth or dare.

What the fuck, Claude?

While Hilda was showing everyone how to make bracelets, using her bracelet for Edelgard as an example, Dorothea was daring Sylvain not to flirt with girls the entire night.

While Petra, Caspar, and Raphael were getting help from Ignatz, who picked up the instructions pretty quickly, Sylvain was attempting to get Dedue to choose dare. Dedue chose truth, making Sylvain sigh in disappointment.

Cyril felt very confused and kinda exasperated with the antics of the edgelord room, but Lady Rhea had ordered him to supervise and also participate. No one was able to get it through to his head that she was trying to get him to relax and also be safe.

In essence, this was the sunshine room experience:

"Oh, look! One of the charms you gave me is a little crown!" Hilda exclaimed excitedly, adding it to Edelgard's bracelet immediately. "Thanks again for the gift, Your Majesty!"

"There's no need to be so formal with me," Edelgard replied, carefully selecting beads for her bracelet. "I'd like to be closer to you, so please, call me Edelgard."

"Sure!"

"Hell yeah!" Caspar screamed. "I'm gonna make the best damn bracelet ever!" 

"Am I not understanding? Is this a competition?" Petra asked.

"You'd better hope not," Lorenz said. "If it were, my radiant skills would far outshine yours!"

"I like your spirit!" Raphael declared, accidentally ripping his bracelet string. Again.

Ignatz gave him a patient smile, before handing Raphael a new one.

"Oh, wow, yours is coming along great, Leonie!" Annette exclaimed in awe. 

"You have deft hands!" Mercedes declared. "It's amazing!"

"I-it's nothing, I just gotta be good with strings as an archer, you know?" 

"I don't think it's being an archer..." Ashe said, because he accidentally spilled some beads on the floor.

"Don't worry, Ashe, you'll get the hang of it," Ingrid promised.

What the edgelord room experience was like, in contrast...

"The bottle landed on Ferdinand!" Dorothea announced, overjoyed.

"Aha! I will not back down from any challenge you throw at me! I will select dare!"

Dedue paused, because he was only really here for Dimitri. 

So, he picked an easy dare.

"Please sing something."

As Dorothea was eagerly giggling, Bernadetta began crawling towards the door. Cyril immediately grabbed her by the wrist without even looking her way, because no one was escaping under his watch.

Ferdinand sang beautifully and made jaws drop. Dorothea in particular was stunned.

Linhardt was asleep in the corner, but that was fine.

Ferdinand's attempt to spin the bottle passed over Marianne, Lysithea, Dimitri, and Felix to land on Hubert. Hubert did not know why anyone would expect him to go through with this farce.

And then Claude cleared his throat, and Hubert remembered. Claude was running this. Claude had to have had an angle, and Hubert would discover it. Nothing would get by him. 

So he took on a dare (because his lips would never betray Edelgard). Ferdinand dared Hubert to name one way he, as Ferdinand von Aegir, was superior to Edelgard. Hubert's reply was that the dare was asking him to lie. Dorothea cheered.

Hubert offered Claude his spin as a symbol of Edelgard's goodwill, and also because he had no ideas for truths or dares. 

The bottle landed on Felix, who wanted no part in this whatsoever. He tried to leave, but Cyril would not let him escape. Cyril was the gatekeeper of hell, keeping them trapped in this cycle of torment. So Felix had to.

"Get it over with," Felix snapped.

"So, about Ashe—"

A thrown pillow struck Claude in the face before he could finish that question. Claude's reply was to take that same pillow and smack Felix with it, declaring war.

What the fuck, Claude?

Hubert immediately aligned himself with Claude and went directly for Felix with a pillow, while the rest dissolved into chaos.

Lysithea went mad with power and used gravity magic to gain the advantage. Dorothea went straight for striking the nobles down. Linhardt was still asleep. Dedue went for shielding Dimitri. Felix was struggling against Claude and Hubert's combined power. Sylvain tackled Claude into the blankets to save his friend. Bernadetta and Marianne were hiding in the corner, because Cyril wouldn't let them leave.

It should be noted that the only person supervising them was Professor Byleth, because Seteth was desperate to search more and dragged Professor Hanneman into another search of the monastery. And Professor Byleth had grown used to tiny loud disruptive creatures yelling around them, so they didn't even register anything being off as they prepared a lesson plan in Jeralt's office.

(The lesson plan consisted of _"How not to die to archers: hit them really hard before they can shoot you.")_

So while complete pillow fight apocalypse meltdown was happening in the edgelord room, the sunshine room had finished up one round of bracelets. Mostly.

Raphael had an artfully-arranged set of amber-coloured beads, while Raphael's messily-tied bracelet was wrapped around Ignatz's wrist. Annette and Mercedes had made each other matching bracelets. Ashe and Ingrid had worked together to find enough sword and horse charms for knightly bracelets. Leonie, Petra, and Lorenz wore their own bracelets with pride, while Caspar was still working on his.

Edelgard had finished up one bracelet, and started one for Hubert. As she looked for enough black beads, she looked over at Hilda's careful selection of blue materials and asked, "is it for Dimitri?"

"Huh? No, it's for Marianne. I already made a bracelet for Dimitri before," Hilda answered, NORMALLY. 

"Won't it make him sad if everyone received a bracelet but him?" Ingrid wondered, hoping to convince Hilda to make another one.

"I'll make another bracelet for Dimitri to match the one I made for Dedue!" Mercedes declared, causing Ingrid to go _'Mercedes no'_ in her heart.

"I will too!" Annette added. "I'm gonna make enough bracelets for all my friends! Once I'm done with Cyril and Lysithea's, I'll totally make one for His Highness!"

"Me too!" Ashe exclaimed.

Hilda couldn't help but smile at the sudden determination in the bracelet-making group.

"I think he'll be fine," Hilda said.

* * *

"Huawhawhawhwhaha---!?" Bernadetta screamed when the sunshine group charged into the room, carrying a fuckton of bracelets.

Raphael immediately charged towards Bernadetta, handing her the bracelet he had made.

"Sorry, sis, it's not the best, but I still made it for you," he said.

"O-oh...! Th-th-thanks..." Bernadetta said, taking the purple bracelet gently.

"Sis?" Claude echoed.

Raphael chuckled awkwardly, quietly admitting that he kind of saw Bernadetta as another family member.

Claude paused, because huh. That wasn't a factor he predicted. So he quickly improvised.

"Say, there's someone else you could give a bracelet to too, you know?"

"Huh? Who?"

Claude pointed to Hubert, who was almost sobbing from Edelgard's gift.

Raphael charged. 

This was the start of Hubert becoming very convinced that Raphael was also an incredible schemer and possibly even more dangerous than Claude because of his convincing acting, starting to stalk Raphael only to realize that Raphael's kindness was genuine, and feeling his fear and suspicion turn into something more akin to admiration, but that isn't really important right now.

Caspar also woke up the sleeping Linhardt and made him wear the bracelet. It was too loose for Linhardt, so while Caspar wasn't looking, Linhardt wrapped it around his wrist twice.

Lorenz was very proud of his noble bracelet and showed it off to Ferdinand. And then gave it to Ferdinand, as he had a generous heart and could afford to do so.

Petra gave her bracelet to Bernadetta too, because Raphael was very convincing when it came to "hey please talk to my Bernadaughter." 

Mercedes and Annette went around giving bracelets to Lysithea and Cyril and Dedue happily. Ingrid practically threw a bracelet at Sylvain and Felix, then kindly gave another bracelet to Dedue. Ashe also gave a bracelet to Dedue, Sylvain, and Felix, and also didn't notice Felix freaking out internally over Ashe's gift.

Dorothea outright blushed when Leonie presented her with a pretty bracelet. Leonie did it because Dorothea was really nice and kept complimenting her when she was training and she wanted to repay Dorothea's kindness.

Hilda had two bracelets for Marianne, because Ingrid was actually kind of shy when it came to romance. Hilda said that it was from a secret admirer, which stunned Marianne. Marianne didn't realize that people could admire her.

Of course, that was when Caspar overheard and told Marianne that people would obviously admire someone with lots of good traits, because he had declared himself Marianne's self esteem coach.

White Claude was hastily correcting his mental chart to say that Raphael had actually adopted Bernadetta now, Edelgard tapped on his shoulder.

"Hm? Princess?"

"I made you a bracelet," Edelgard said. 

"You... did?" Claude asked, taken aback by Edelgard's gift.

"Because I want you by my side," Edelgard answered. 

Claude couldn't answer that, so instead, he held out his wrist to Edelgard. Edelgard tied the bracelet around his wrist in an incredibly intimate way.

Edelgard took this as Claude agreeing to join her side. Claude was just really embarrassed and couldn't mentally deal with anything at the moment.

Again, what the fuck, Claude? 

Hilda laughed, before presenting Claude with another bracelet. She had used letter charms to spell out _'BEST FRIENDS'_ on his.

Anyways, it was Dimitri time.

The cries of _'Your Highness'_ echoed in the room. Ashe, Mercedes, Annette, Ingrid... along with the first one Hilda made, he had five bracelets by the end. And Dedue asked Hilda to show him how to make the bracelets too, so Dimitri would soon have six.

Dimitri was stunned by the gifts.

"...thank you," Dimitri said with a smile. "I'll treasure them."

"Hey, hey, hey, this is illegal," Claude said.

"What," Hilda said flatly.

Claude then took Hilda's hand and lifted it into the air, directly above her head.. He pointed at Hilda's wrist, causing her to think _'what the fuck, Claude?'_

"Look at Hilda's wrist. No one has given Hilda a bracelet yet. That's too sad," Claude stated. "I mean, she's done so much for everyone, so it's only right for a gift in return, you know!"

Everyone who knew Claude immediately knew that he was aiming for something here, so they just let him go on. 

"Your Highness, you're the one who received the first bracelet she ever made! It's only right for you to be the one to make her a gift."

"U-um, me?" Dimitri asked, because, well, he did like the idea of giving Hilda a gift, but also, he would probably smash the beads into pieces and rip the twine.

"No, Dimitri already bought me a hair clip, it's fine--"

"Don't worry! Hilda'll show you! I'll take care of everyone else, so take as much time in the bracelet-making room as you need!" Claude declared.

He gave them absolutely no room to argue as he pretty much dragged them into the other room, shut the door behind them, and left them to their own devices.

Hilda thought one thing with an absolutely murderous smile on her face.

_'Claude, I'm going to kill you.'_

"Oh, so this is what you use to make the bracelets," Dimitri said. He was still emotionally recovering from people showing him affection, so he didn't have the mental capability to scream about being in a room alone with Hilda.

"Yeah, it is," Hilda answered with a normal smile. "We've got string, some beads, and a bunch of scissors."

Hilda took a careful series of deep breaths before saying, "but really, you don't have to, you know? I still like the hair clip you bought me."

"No, I would like to," Dimitri said.

"Well, alright then! Let's start with measuring out how much string you need..."

As Hilda went about instructing him on how to make bracelets, Dimitri wondered.

Were his actions really as selfless as wanting to repay her? Or did he just want to spend more time alone with her?

It felt a bit... greedy, to want so much of her time. To want... what, exactly?

"You're going to need the scissors now, so--"

The two of them both reached for the scissors at the same time, their hands touching accidentally.

Hilda pulled her hand away instantly, apologizing with an awkward laugh.

Dimitri paused at the sight of her embarrassed smile, and felt something click into place.

Thankfully he didn't have to think about it much, because then there was a terrible scream that ripped through the area.

* * *

Professor Byleth brought them all down to Professor Jeritza's room, because that was where Professor Manuela said she would be if anything happened to her. 

At the sight of the other professor's unconscious body and the secret passage in Jeritza's room, Professor Byleth ordered Dedue and Mercedes to bring her to the infirmary, because they were the ones most used to dealing with injuries after all of Hilda and DImitri's sparring matches.

"Professor, I'll accompany them," Edelgard said, only for Professor Byleth to shake their head. 

They needed as many fighters as possible, Professor Byleth said, so Edelgard couldn't leave.

She couldn't even make the excuse of helping everyone grab their weapons, because she had been taught by Professor Byleth for five months. She knew that Professor Byleth just somehow carried an entire weapon store's worth of weapons on them at all times and could bring them out and put them away at will. She knew that the professor could even buy and sell items before battle if they wanted to, somehow.

So Edelgard went along, sweating the entire way.

Claude interpreted this as pre-battle nerves, and told her, "don't worry. I'll keep an eye out for you."

Which.... made things even worse.

What the fuck, Claude?


	22. Chapter 22

The Flame Emperor wasn't there to tell the Death Knight to back off, because Claude was actually serious about that 'keeping an eye on you' thing.

Not that the Flame Emperor needed to show up?

Professor Byleth's strategy for the Death Knight involved throwing five gambits at him in a row, then Lysithea with critical murder magic. It felt excessive, honestly. Like, they already outnumbered him so many times over. They already used gambits so he couldn't fight back. Was this really necessary? Weren't they just bullying him at this point?

The group actually legitimately managed to knock out the Death Knight. It took Hubert ""accidentally"" setting part of the floor on fire in a last ditch attack against some already-fleeing enemy to buy enough time for the Death Knight to wake up.

Behind everyone's back, Edelgard was trying to gesture to the Death Knight to just fucking run. Unfortunately for her, she was the fifth-shortest person in the entire school, so the Death Knight couldn't see her.

Professor Byleth immediately gestured for Lysithea again, and the Death Knight fled.

Edelgard had very little idea how to react to any of that.

Monica and Flayn were recovered and carried back to the infirmary. Byleth decided to go and find Seteth and tell him the good news, leaving the students to their own devices.

So, naturally, they chose to...

"Good night," Linhardt said, sitting down against the wall of the edgelord room and beginning to snore.

Hilda yawned, stretching her arms above her head. 

Yeah, everyone decided to sleep, still in the edgelord room.

Even when asked, hey, what was the point if they already solved the kidnapping, Claude's lackadaisical response was, "it's fun!"

Claude stayed up a bit longer, because he was waiting for the chance to strike. When most of the sunshine group was asleep, he made his move, going around and making things as terrible as possible.

Ashe was very sleepy and tiny enough to be carried, so he didn't even stir when Claude scooped him up and dumped him on top of Felix. Felix couldn't move, because Ashe was on top of him. He was trapped, and he knew it, Claude knew it, and everyone knew it. It was terrible and incredible and Felix's problems were more the fact that people could see him and also how would Ashe react when he woke up.

(He would probably just apologize for accidentally rolling on top of Felix or something.)

Ingrid was mostly asleep, so she didn't register the weird warm thing that was just rolled next to her. In fact, she was grateful for this weird warm thing, because it was soft and nice to hold.

The weird warm thing was Marianne. Ingrid would scream about this upon waking up.

Linhardt didn't even wake up as Claude dragged him next to Ignatz.

Raphael didn't know what was happening, but he knew that Claude had told him that Hubert needed friends, so he attempted to wave Hubert over. Hubert did not trust that, hissed, and fled. This was the part where Hubert became suspicious of Raphael and swore to monitor him as well, but that's not important right now.

Caspar seemed to kick in his sleep a lot and Sylvain wasn't even asleep yet, so Claude refrained. Reluctantly. Sadly. He decided to go for someone else.

Dorothea took one good look at the approaching Claude, realized she didn't like the mischievous look in his eyes, and tried to flee. But she tripped over Linhardt's leg and crashed into Leonie's chest. And she could not handle that in any way. She was not okay, especially when Leonie woke up and pinned the attempted "attacker" to the floor with a furious (and _hot_) glare.

Claude was repressing his laughter as he nudged Lorenz closer to Ferdinand with his foot.

He didn't need to do anything with Annette and Lysithea and Cyril, because they had already fallen asleep together in a pile. Cute....

Anyways, Mercedes was quietly chatting with Dedue, and you know what? That was fine. That was legitimately perfect. Thank you, you two, for being so cooperative, Claude said in his heart.

And then Claude saw Hilda, sleeping on a pile of blankets. 

He looked over at Dimitri, who was sitting next to Dedue and Mercedes, then smirked.

Gathering up Hilda along with her blankets, he went to the trio and pretended like he was just handing out blankets to folks who didn't have them, because they couldn't see Hilda in there.

He set them all on Dimitri's lap, Hilda included. Dimitri's expression when he realized that Hilda was sleeping with her head on his lap was hilarious. 

Claude was so satisfied with his work.

Edelgard had legitimately no idea what he was doing. But it must have been a scheme. Everything he did was a scheme.

(The next morning, there was so much screaming. So much. It was incredible.

Well, probably not for the people who woke up from the screaming and didn't even realize the situation they were in. Good thing Hilda was the only one.)

* * *

"So... a fishing tournament, huh," Hilda said plainly, looking over the pond from the balcony near the dining hall.

(It was the same place where she had watched the stars with Dimitri, she remembered, but she tried to put the thought away.)

"I don't get it. Why are they wasting their time with this?" Leonie asked irritably, glaring at Byleth's back as they easily blew away the competition.

"Fish are so slimy and icky..." Hilda groaned.

"And we have the Battle of the Lion and the Eagle coming up! We ought to be training!" Leonie exclaimed.

"Hm, but it's still the middle of Horsebow Moon, y'know?" Hilda replied. "We have like, a month and a half to train?"

"That's not enough," Leonie declared. "I want us to be the ones holding the prize at the end!"

"You just want to compete with Professor Byleth and the Black Eagles, don't you?" Hilda asked.

Leonie _hmph_ed at her, before storming into the dining hall. Hilda took that as a yes, and decided to follow after Leonie. Leonie was headed towards the training hall to, y'know, train, but her path took her through the dining hall.

Dedue was in there, trying to help the chefs deal with the sudden influx of fish.

Hilda greeted him, not even noticing how Leonie left her behind.

"Hello," Dedue replied.

"You doing okay?" Hilda asked, looking at the... copious amount of fish he was handling.

Dedue nodded.

Their conversation went as their conversations usually did; Hilda doing most of the talking with Dedue occasionally giving short answers.

Except, since Hilda asked about the Battle of the Lion and the Eagle, Dedue's response was this:

"The Battle of the Eagle and Lion draws near. His Highness insists upon training well into the night. He has said it is nothing to worry about. But how could I not be concerned?"

Hilda took the news with a smile.

She politely excused herself from the conversation and left the dining hall.

Dedue had a sudden bad feeling about that.

* * *

Dimitri wasn't even sure why he was surprised when Hilda kicked the spear out of his hands and carried him off again. 

He just knew that it was utterly improper for her to keep doing it, because that was how rumours started.

When he brought up this fear to Hilda, though, her response was, "hey, everyone's at the fishing tournament or training, right? No one will catch us!"

(She did not bring up how people already gossiped about them. That was unnecessary information and they were better off forgetting it.)

"You make it sound like we've done something wrong..."

"We didn't! I'm just hanging out with you, after making sure that you're not overworking yourself," Hilda said. "I mean, it's really bad for you to lose sleep! That'll just make you worse in battle!"

Dimitri sighed, because training was how he kept certain thoughts away...

He was tugged out of his thoughts by the feeling of Hilda grabbing his hand. He stared in bewilderment as she started dragging him away from the training hall.

"The sky's beautiful today!" Hilda exclaimed joyfully. "It's too much of a waste to spend it all inside! I just want to sit and watch the clouds go by!"

Dimitri felt himself staring as she asked if he would like that. She took his silence as a no, then gasped at the sight of a familiar cat. 

Her warm hand let go of his as she went to pet the cat, and Dimitri...

Huh?

* * *

The next day, Hilda pulled him away from his training to make flower crowns with her. When she snuck her crown on his head, Dimitri felt that same strange feeling, but his mood became even weirder when Hilda went to give her other crowns to other people.

Then, the next day, it was cooking with Dedue.

Then it was taking a walk with her to admire the scenery, chatting with the people they met along the way.

Each day, Hilda made sure he didn't work himself too hard, each day, she sent him off to his room when it got too late, and each day, Dimitri felt lost and confused when it came to that feeling.

Meanwhile, Hilda couldn't hide it from herself anymore. 

She liked Dimitri. She held his hand, she had fun with him, and she _really_, _really_ liked him.

This was a problem, because fucking hell, one day Dimitri would realize that she had been trying to do all the things you did with someone you dated while pretending that this was how she acted with friends, and there was no way that could end well.

Hilda decided, hey, time to talk more with other friends.

It was because of this that she learned that Claude had been concerned recently.

"Monica's been sticking really close to Edelgard," Claude stated. "I know she's, y'know, just recovered from being a kidnapping victim and all, but she keeps showing up out of nowhere when I'm with Edelgard! It's like she's got a tracking spell on her or something!"

Hilda nodded along, understanding what he meant.

"Yeah, her personality's different too. She seems happier, but like she's faking it. Like she doesn't want anyone to worry over her, so she's making a show of how she's totally fine," Hilda said. "Maybe she's clinging so hard to Edelgard because she's the only friend she made so far?"

Claude's eyes widened.

"So, if we can help Monica make more friends, she'll be recovering better, _and_ she could take some time away from Edelgard!" Claude exclaimed, before laughing. "Oh, Hilda, whatever would I do without you!?"

Hilda laughed in return, eager to listen to his idea.


	23. Chapter 23

Things went downhill very, very quickly.

See, Claude had attempted to approach Monica and Edelgard in the courtyard, with Hilda and Dimitri on standby to help with his plan.

Unfortunately, Monica snapped at Claude, screamed that Claude was just trying to take Edel away from her, and called him a thief.

Claude figured that he had accidentally stepped on some sort of button for Monica, and was about to apologize, when Monica grinned at the size of the crowd drawn to the loud screaming.

(Edelgard had been getting too close to others, lately. It was time to remind her of her place.)

Monica turned to Edelgard and knelt, chanting,

_"O sunbringer goddess, o herald of tomorrows,_

_Might I be the blade that strikes down your sorrows,_

_Until the end of days, in the dead of night,_

_Let me fill our foes with fright!"_

Edelgard stepped back in confusion, as Monica...

...transformed.

Her skin turned an inhumanly pale shade, her eye became red with a black mark running over it, her clothes became like three scorpions' stingers, and in her hand, she held a gleaming knife.

She charged at Claude. Claude barely ducked under her blade in time.

Students rushed to escape. Hilda and Dimitri had to fight the flow of the crowd, trying to help--

"This is what you get for interfering!" the girl who had once been Monica screamed, attempting to slash Claude in half.

"What the hell _are_ you?!" Claude demanded, dodging to the side.

His answer was a calm smile.

"I'm just one of Edel's loyal servants, you know?"

Edelgard froze as she realized just what Kronya wanted.

She wanted to drive a wedge between Edelgard and all the friends, all the allies she had made. 

"Stop it! I have no part in this!" Edelgard exclaimed, pulling out her own dagger. She rushed to stab Kronya in the back, only for the attack to be deflected by one of her scorpion-like stingers.

Kronya laughed.

She kept advancing straight for Claude, knowing he couldn't dodge forever! Edelgard's attacks were useless against Kronya's defences...!

And then--!

"Dimitri! Now!" Hilda ordered.

Dimitri threw Hilda into the air!

Kronya had to dodge the falling strike. Even though Hilda was barehanded, just one punch was enough for her to create a crater in the ground!

"You can't take on all of us!" Hilda exclaimed confidently.

"Hmm? Is that so?" Kronya asked with a serene smile. "Oh well. Just one is enough for now."

She threw her knife at the exhausted Claude. Claude couldn't move as fast as he was before, and the knife slashed him in the side...!

Three people shrieked Claude's name in horror as he crumpled to the ground. Kronya disappeared into thin air, and...!

"Get Marianne, Mercedes, anyone!" Edelgard ordered quickly.

Hilda and Dimitri set out in a rush, hoping that the healers weren't too far from the area...

Edelgard's breathing was rapid as she knelt by Claude's side. 

The scent of blood poisoned the air. Edelgard didn't even notice the blood beginning to stain her clothes as she cradled Claude close. 

Her hands automatically went to wrap up his cut, using her cloak to make an improvised bandage. Dark stains quickly emerged on the bright red cloth...

She knew that blade. Kronya had two, one she used to kill, and one she used to torture.

The one Kronya had used was the latter. The cut wasn't deep or large enough to kill Claude, but the blade had been coated in poison. It wouldn't kill him, but the pain he would endure...!

Even if someone were to heal the cut, the poison would remain in his body. As long as the poison remained in his body, he would die. He needed more than magic...! He needed an antidote...!

"Hey, don't look so anxious, princess," he urged her, his voice breathless. "I'll be... fine." 

"Don't talk," Edelgard ordered. Her mind was flitting between options, all the courses of action she could take. She could carry him to the infirmary, but... too far. She could... no, waiting would take too long... but she hadn't studied healing magic the same way she had studied reason magic...!

Claude let out a light laugh, hoping to calm her nerves, before wincing. 

"Ack, can't laugh," he muttered to himself.

"Just stay quiet!" Edelgard snapped.

"Don't worry, Edelgard," Claude said, struggling to make his breathing regular again. "I won't die. I _can't_ die."

As if the blood loss loosened his tongue, Claude kept talking.

"I can't die," he repeated, "not until I've torn down every system that keeps the world divided."

Edelgard's eyes widened at those words.

That was when Hilda and Dimitri returned, Marianne, Mercedes, and Linhardt following close behind.

With the three healers, Claude's cut healed easily, but...

Edelgard felt her heart grow heavy as she realized that it wasn't enough. It couldn't be enough. 

Claude fell unconscious just as Edelgard lifted him into her arms. 

"I'm bringing him to the infirmary!" Edelgard announced, trying to keep her voice stoic.

Her heart was racing as she moved, careful not to move Claude too much. It just wasn't right for Claude to be so lifeless...! Her throat constricted, and...

Edelgard realized that she was scared. For Claude's sake.

* * *

The three healers had decided to follow after Edelgard, since they could report what they saw to Manuela.

Dimitri and Hilda were left outside the infirmary, waiting to be told that they could enter.

And the waiting was getting to them.

"Dammit...!" Dimitri swore, driving his fist into the nearest wall.

"D-Dimitri?!" Hilda's eyes were wide with shock at the sight.

Dimitri grimaced, his body tense with anger.

"I'm sorry," Dimitri told her. "I try and suppress my emotions, but this time..."

"You're worried for Claude, aren't you?" Hilda asked.

Dimitri's eyes were dark as he said, "I cannot bear the thought of failing to protect another person dear to me."

Hilda felt an indescribable sense of anxiety well up in her chest. 

"I still remember the screams of those who died that day," Dimitri admitted. "My father, my stepmother, everyone... their last moments were excruciating. I can't let myself fail again. I can't disappoint anyone else..."

Hilda's heart ached as she wondered if this was the pain that Dimitri had been carrying all this time.

"Well, all that matters is that Claude is alive right now," Dimitri said. 

And that was what did it.

Hilda began to cry.

Because if she had been faster, Claude wouldn't have gotten hurt at all. If she had been smarter, she wouldn't have told Claude to deal with Monica in the first place. If she had been better, she would know what to say to help Dimitri. If she _didn't keep screwing up_, everything could have been avoided in the first place...!

Dimitri's eyes widened at Hilda's sudden tears.

"Hilda...?"

Hilda wiped her face with her fists, but her tears wouldn't stop...

"I'm sorry..." Hilda said, a shaky smile on her face. "I... really messed up this time..."

Her smile wavered as more tears came.

Dimitri didn't know how to address this situation, but then, Hilda hugged him.

After a moment of stunned pause, he wrapped his arms around her, trying to silently comfort her as she cried into his chest.

It seemed like an eternity had passed before Hilda's tremors stopped.

Hilda pushed away from Dimitri, her eyes bitter as her mouth smiled.

"Are you feeling alright?" Dimitri asked.

"Yeah," Hilda said, a hiccup punctuating her words. "Thank you."

She still felt like she was going to burst into tears again, but instead, she wiped her tears one last time.

"Dimitri... thanks for being here," Hilda said earnestly. "If... if you ever want me to be there for you, I'll be there, okay? All you have to do is ask."

Dimitri seemed taken aback by her sudden offer, before smiling.

"Thank you, Hilda."


	24. Chapter 24

Manuela was confused.

From every possible angle, the knife had only made a small cut in Claude's side. The cut on its own couldn't possibly kill him. Even if it were coated in poison, only a small amount would have entered his system.

So, why had Claude been unconscious for four days...?

The infirmary was deadly quiet as Manuela worked. Sometimes, she had to check if Claude was actually breathing...

"Wake up soon, alright?" Manuela asked as she wiped sweat off of Claude's face with a cloth. Her eyes immediately went to the pile of cards and flowers on the table, the girl having fallen asleep in the chair by his bed. "Your friends are waiting for you."

Manuela put a blanket over Edelgard as she slept, careful not to disturb the princess.

She left to grab another bottle of rubbing alcohol, not realizing that Edelgard was awake.

"Just a little bit longer..." Edelgard whispered to Claude. "Endure it just a little bit longer, Claude."

* * *

"No way..."

"Is Edelgard..."

"Monica knelt to her before attacking..."

"Scary..."

Hilda's fingers twitched as she overheard the noise in the dining hall.

Edelgard and Hubert had all but disappeared in the days after Claude's injury. There was no one to defend Edelgard from the new rumours swirling about.

Hilda hated it.

Because, on some level, the rumours had a point. It _was_ suspicious that Monica knelt to Edelgard, chanted an entire hymn to her, before attacking. It was suspicious how she spent so much time with Edelgard, it was suspicious how she called herself Edelgard's loyal servant, everything about the situation was suspicious...!

And Hilda, well... when she thought on it, she didn't know Edelgard that well. Edelgard was polite, witty, and intelligent, but could Hilda really say she knew anything else about her?

Hilda...

...

...no.

_'You know what, screw that!' _Hilda decided. _'I don't care if Edelgard might be suspicious! If she's someone I can't trust, I'll just work at it until I can!'_

Because Hilda was someone who loved and loved deeply, once someone won her loyalty, she would fight for them.

With the same fury she felt whenever someone said something bad about Marianne because of her Crest, Hilda slammed her fist into the table and stood!

"Hey!" Hilda exclaimed loudly, the yell combined with the table's cracking noises bringing everyone's attention to her. "All of you, saying bad things about Edelgard... and doubting her... you can all shut up!" 

She gritted her teeth as she kept going.

"I might not know Edelgard all that well, but I know what I saw! She held him close and teared up over his injury... she was desperate and panicking because of it... if there's one thing I know, it's that she would never want to hurt him! That's why...!"

Without a single trace of doubt in her voice—!

"I haven't lost faith in Edelgard! And none of you should lose faith in her either!"

Hilda turned and stormed out of the dining hall, leaving everyone's stunned eyes behind.

She wound up sitting in the gazebo, body curled up with her head in her arms.

Hilda looked up at the sound of footsteps, seeing Dimitri approaching with a concerned expression.

"Might I sit with you?" he asked after a moment's hesitation.

"Okay."

Hilda didn't look up as Dimitri sat next to her, feeling his warmth by her side.

"I must've really made a mess... I hope I didn't break the table," Hilda said casually. 

"Don't worry. You didn't," Dimitri answered. 

Hilda hummed in response, her expression darkening.

She wanted to ask if Dimitri doubted in Edelgard, if he thought she had done the right thing, but...

Instead, she wound up leaning against Dimitri, resting her head on his shoulder. 

"There's no way Claude could die now," Hilda stated, her tone blank. A sigh left her lips, then she added, "when he wakes up... he'd be furious if people were badmouthing the girl he likes, right?"

"He certainly wouldn't enjoy that," Dimitri answered. "It's good that you told them off."

Hilda felt a small bit of relief creep into her heart.

The question she couldn't ask before came to her lips so easily after that.

"Do you trust Edelgard?" 

"I certainly have difficulty believing that she intended for that incident to happen," Dimitri answered. "When it comes down to it, when Edelgard wants to share what she knows about that girl... I'd like to hear her out."

"Yeah. It'd be nice if she told us," Hilda said. 

"I have faith that she will," Dimitri stated. "You defended her so bravely, after all."

"Ha, it's not really bravery," Hilda replied. "I just don't want to regret anything. If we drifted apart because I couldn't speak up for her... well, I'd hate that."

Hilda let out another sigh.

"I don't want to regret meeting or befriending anyone here. I won't let our memories of this place be sad ones," Hilda declared, a smile coming onto her face. She suddenly knew just what to do.

She pushed herself off the gazebo floor and offered Dimitri a hand up.

Dimitri returned her grin as he took her hand.

"You wanna bake cookies with me?" Hilda asked as she pulled Dimitri into a standing position. "I'm hoping the smell will wake Claude up!"

"If you don't mind, I'd be glad to help," Dimitri answered.

"Glad to have you, then!" Hilda replied.

* * *

The door to the infirmary opened, before being carefully shut. 

Edelgard didn't seem surprised.

"Do you have it?" she asked.

"I wouldn't have returned if I weren't successful," Hubert answered, handing over a small corked bottle.

_'With this, Claude's suffering will be over,' _Edelgard thought.

Kronya's poison was excruciating, but not in the traditional sense. It put its victims into a deep, deep sleep, where their dreams were tormented by their worst fears and most dreadful memories... 

Edelgard remembered her bragging that she could drive someone insane with it, if she felt like it.

But Edelgard wouldn't let Claude suffer any longer.

She uncorked the bottle and prepared herself to pour the antidote into his mouth--

And then the door slammed open.

"We brought cookies!" Hilda announced as Edelgard accidentally dropped the entire bottle into Claude's mouth.

"Oh, hello, Edelgard, Hubert," Dimitri greeted, just as Claude sat up and started coughing.

The bottle flew out of his throat and onto the floor.

"Shit, that was _not_ pleasant," Claude grumbled, rubbing at his neck with a tired expression. 

"...huh? Did... did the smell of the cookies _actually_ wake him up...?" Hilda asked in awe.

"Smell...?" Claude echoed, before smiling. "Oh, if you mean the smell of something burnt, of course!"

"Hey! Claude! They're not _burnt!_" Hilda exclaimed.

"They're... slightly burnt," Dimitri admitted.

"Kidding, kidding!" Claude said with a laugh.

Edelgard gulped at the sight.

She had absolutely no idea if Claude woke up because he accidentally drank some of the antidote or if he was just operating on survival instincts when the foreign object entered his throat, but... he was awake now.

And that was enough.

* * *

It should be noted that, almost immediately after, every single one of the other students broke into the infirmary to check on Claude. Even Felix.

Professor Byleth just let all of them skip class, since hey, it'd just be cruel to take that little celebration away from them.


	25. Chapter 25

Claude had been forced to take time to rest and ordered to avoid too much strenuous activity.

This absolutely would not stop him, though.

He spent all his time in the library, tearing through one section in particular.

The section on the history of Crests.

Tomas, no, Solon was worried.

Kronya was a fool who exposed herself out of idiocy, but _his_ disguise and acting had been perfect! Claude couldn't have possibly seen through him!

But, every time Claude called him over to ask about some part of some tome, he grew... not quite anxious, but _bothered_.

This child could not possibly hurt him, but he was growing to be an annoyance.

_'Perhaps he should have a "relapse"...'_ Solon thought, just as another voice pierced the library's silence.

"Claude, don't you think that's enough for today?" Edelgard asked as she entered the library. 

"Ah, Princess! Great to see you!" Claude exclaimed with a grin. "You mind helping me look for—"

"No," Edelgard said outright. "Go back to the infirmary and sleep."

"Aw, come on, Edelgard, I've been cooped up in there all day, can you blame me for wanting to spend more time _investigating something interesting?"_ he asked.

He laughed and added that it would be an insult to all of Tomas' help to stop before finding at least one lead.

Solon sincerely wondered if he could get away with poisoning a book Claude would read.

That was when Edelgard spoke up.

"Claude. I will not let anyone else harm you. Not even you and your own stubbornness," she declared.

There was a moment of silence as Claude's eyes widened.

"You needn't do all this alone," Edelgard added, her eyes flitting towards Solon, before she redirected her gaze back at Claude. "Can't you ask one of your friends to simply deliver books to the infirmary for you? Or study alongside someone?"

Claude didn't even get to say anything to that, because Edelgard went on.

"You ought to rely on other people more," she said, because she was not letting him stay in a room alone with Solon ever. "Rely on _me_ a bit more."

Claude relaxed a bit, giving her a carefree grin.

"Alright, I guess I've been reading a bit too long anyways. Shall we go, princess?"

Edelgard smiled, letting Claude leave first.

Behind his back, she glared at Solon.

Solon couldn't help but feel frustrated... 

* * *

Dimitri took a sip of his tea.

"Well?" Hilda asked with an excited grin. "You like it?"

"I do enjoy it," Dimitri answered. "Is this chamomile? How did you know I preferred this blend?"

Hilda thought to how she attempted to bribe Professor Byleth with fishing bait in exchange for information on what teas tended to help people sleep better. That attempt completely fell through when the professor just outright told her that Dimitri liked chamomile, that it helped with calming people down and sleeping, and that they didn't need the bait. They even gave her the tea leaves.

"Lucky guess?" Hilda offered.

"Then, might I take a guess at what sorts of tea you would like?" Dimitri asked.

"Sure, go ahead!"

Dimitri paused to think. He remembered how Hilda liked making sweets with Annette, Dedue, and Mercedes...

"Something sweet," he started off with, before remembering how Hilda always tried to help him relax, "and something that would help you feel calm and refreshed."

"No way, how well do you know me?!" Hilda gasped in awe. "That's totally right!"

"I hadn't even guessed what your favourite type was yet..." Dimitri noted, making Hilda laugh.

"That's because I don't like any one of them in particular," Hilda said. "I just like most teas that hit those two boxes, so you're right on the money!"

"I see. It makes me happy that we've gotten to know each other so well," Dimitri said.

Hilda smiled, her cheeks rosy.

"Hey, I've gotten new recommendations for tea types, though. Lysithea really likes Crescent-Moon Tea, so I've been curious! Wanna try it together next time?" Hilda asked.

"I'd be happy to," Dimitri answered. "Would you like to work on some revision work while we drink tea, then?"

"You're always so responsible! If I read over all my books as much as you did, my eyes would fall out!" Hilda exclaimed, though her bright smile gave away her joking jabs.

Dimitri would have said something about how he was simply doing what was expected of him, when he noticed Tomas walking by, grumbling with his back slouched.

"Hm... I wonder, is Tomas alright?" Dimitri asked when Tomas had passed by. "He seemed... irritated."

"Oh, that's probably because of Claude," Hilda said casually. "He just woke up, and he's already back to his nonsense. He's been tearing apart the library, looking for a book with both Crests and art to make Linhardt and Ignatz talk to each other more..."

She took a sip of her tea, before giving Dimitri a grin.

"Really makes you feel like things are back to normal around here, huh?"


	26. Chapter 26

There was a giant fucking glowing batch of fish bait in the pond, attracting fish in hordes.

Professor Byleth hadn't even bothered asking _why_ such a thing was happening. They were just taking advantage of it heartily.

Professor Hanneman's glasses had been stolen (thanks Ashe) and handed to a cat, which was then lured into napping in Bernadetta's room with several other cats.

Raphael and Dedue were both distracting the kitchen staff so Annette could make the biggest explosion possible.

Mercedes was politely chatting with Flayn about healing magic.

Ignatz and Ingrid's attempt at a painting of Seiros had been sent directly to Rhea, who was stunned and baffled by the image. She had been reduced to desperately trying to ask them if Seiros was really that scary.

Lysithea was teaching Cyril how to read in her room.

Seteth, however, had been locked in a closet with Manuela. This was an accident, because the plan was supposed to be that Seteth would also be fishing. Marianne accidentally tripped and locked them in while trying to do something else entirely. She couldn't open the door either, so she was looking for the keys...

See, the reason there was a plan in the first place was that Edelgard asked to be able to speak to Claude alone, with all the faculty distracted to give them complete privacy.

The only possible reasons someone could make a request like that were murder attempts, secret confessions, or sex.

Hilda refused to disclose which one she interpreted it as, but she took the request deadly seriously.

So, to distract Catherine, Shamir, Alois, and Jeralt...

Well, uh, to be honest, the sparring match wasn't entirely her idea. It was mostly Felix's. Hilda's idea involved more theft and also cuteness.

Basically, there was a sparring match between two teams.

Team one was Hilda and Dimitri.

Team two was everyone else. 

(Except a napping Linhardt.)

It should be noted that Hilda obviously objected to this, because what the fuck?

However, Byleth was busy and the walls weren't reinforced yet, so Hilda and Dimitri could not be on separate teams. But the others said that the only way team two could ever possibly win was if it consisted of literally everyone else available. (Except Linhardt.)

Hilda couldn't argue against that, because Dimitri _was_ incredibly strong and skilled. 

The sparring match was incredibly frantic and panicked, which interested the knights immensely.

Hilda struck down spears aiming for Dimitri, while he stabbed at any swords looking to disarm her.

It was kind of stunning to Hilda just how well they worked together? Like, when she looked back on the carnage they had caused?

Lorenz's lance was snapped in half, Petra's blade was sent into the floor, Sylvain himself was thrown towards the benches, Dorothea's sword was sticking out of the ceiling...

Hilda snapped back to attention at Dimitri's wordless warning, parrying Ferdinand's lance attack. Caspar tried to take the chance to strike, only for Dimitri shield her with his own lance. 

Caspar's quick punches forced Dimitri on the defensive, so Hilda dropped her axe and tackled him. She accidentally tackled him into Leonie, taking them both out. Dimitri moved to force Ferdinand's spear downwards, stomping the spearpoint into the floor. 

Felix charged into the fray, grabbing Petra's sword from the floor to make up for the wooden one Hilda broke by accident. 

"Get down!" Hilda ordered. Dimitri immediately ducked, letting her use his back as a springboard to jump at Felix.

Felix's swing didn't stop, Hilda gritting her teeth as the practice sword caught her in the collar. She took care of the swordsman with bare-fisted brawling.

Hilda and Dimitri were back to back, both their chests heaving for breath as they waited for the next attack.

"Congrats!" Catherine declared, stunning them both. "That sure was impressive!"

As the other knights praised them, Hilda felt confused. She looked around and saw that no one was standing up against them.

"We won?" Hilda asked Dimitri.

"Incredible. You fought well--" Dimitri's earnest smile fell way to a shocked expression when he turned to face Hilda fully.

Hilda looked down at herself to see what could have stunned him so bad, before seeing that Felix's attack... had torn her sleeve clean off, exposing a surprisingly muscular arm.

"I'll need to grab a change of clothes..." Hilda muttered to herself, just as Dimitri offered her his cloak. "Huh?"

"Just... take it," Dimitri said, face red.

"O-oh. Thanks, Dimitri," Hilda said, wrapping the cloak over her shoulders again.

Alois immediately tried to ask if they were something, but Jeralt silenced him before he could finish the question.

* * *

Hubert was guarding the door as Edelgard sat inside the infirmary. Dark magic dampened the sound of their conversation to the world outside.

Edelgard was finally alone with Claude, everyone who could overhear safely distracted and away from the area. She could finally ask him what he would think if he heard of her plans.

She had attempted to be at least a little subtle, not outright saying that she was the one in charge of this supposed faction that knew a dark secret about the church and was planning on overthrowing it.

Claude's answer--

"Okay, I can see _why_ someone would want to overthrow the church," Claude admitted, "but can this not involve stabbing people?"

"Huh?"

"I mean, if this dark secret is so bad, just expose it to the world, make the church lose their credibility and pile on the other reasons to overthrow them. You'll meet some opposition from nobles who love their Crests and all, but there are obviously some who would pounce on the chance to stop paying the place, plus, there are _already_ people looking for the church's weaknesses, but they're just terrible at it."

"No, wait, but there's no other choice but war--"

"No, there isn't?" Claude replied. "There is a lot of other options? Just give the church's enemies an actual fighting stance and let them tear each other apart? Or get Lady Rhea to step down and take advantage of the chaos of her not having a successor? Or just reform the church? Or replace Lady Rhea with someone you can trust?"

Edelgard couldn't even muster up a reply to that.

Claude just went on, saying, "why would anyone choose a war of all the options, anyways? Like, why are you so determined to fight? Are you just really bloodthirsty or something? Because that would backfire really, _really_ badly. Like, if you go so far, justifying your actions by saying it'll all work out in the end, won't other people just think you're a monster? You'll have to subjugate the would-be allies who agree with your goals but object to your methods, then when you've won, the people you stepped on on the way to your goals will rebel against you for your crimes... they'll think of you as no better than the oppressors you were fighting against in the first place!"

Claude finally managed to run out of steam and trail off.

Edelgard literally had no idea what to say to anything he had told her.

Meanwhile, Claude was thinking something along the lines of _'hey, I respect that you're trying to tell me about the guys who stabbed me without tipping anyone off, but Edelgard, can you please maybe not sound sympathetic to their goals? Please? Because, you know, they stabbed me!'_

There was a very pensive silence in the room...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i know its probably out of character for claude to be so blunt about the church INSIDE THE PLACE THATS SO CLOSE TO RHEAS ROOM but also??? its funny and thats enough. my explanation is somewhere between muffle magic and also claude being too tired and stabified to be subtle


	27. Chapter 27

"Edelgard seems kinda stressed out lately..." Hilda noted, sitting in the reception hall with Marianne and Leonie. "Though, I guess it makes sense. Claude just recovered, and yet he's already determined to participate in the battle..."

"I wish Claude would just rest..." Marianne said softly.

"Does he think that the rest of us are so weak that we'll lose without him or something?" Leonie demanded in annoyance, though Hilda knew she was just worried.

"All he said was something like _'it's not right for you guys to fight without your house leader' _or whatever," Hilda said simply.

"Maybe we should just knock him out and leave him in the infirmary," Leonie said.

"Please do not do that," Marianne asked. 

"We could bribe him with food," Leonie suggested. "I'm pretty sure half the reason he's so determined to fight is because the winner gets a feast."

"Didn't the house leaders already agree to share the food no matter who wins...?" Hilda asked, exasperated.

"It's not about the _prizes_. Well, not _just_ about the prizes. It's also about managing to beat the other two houses," Claude said, showing up out of nowhere. 

Marianne screamed, Leonie flinched, and Hilda didn't really care.

"Out of bed already?" Hilda asked.

"Surprisingly, it turns out that, after days of staying in bed, you tend to want to move around," Claude answered. "Wanna head to the training hall with me?"

"No thanks, I've had enough of fighting," Hilda said. "I'm in desperate need of some beauty sleep, so could you possibly let me sit out the next fight? You don't need a delicate flower like me, right?"

Leonie felt her eyes almost pop out of her skull.

"Are you joking?! You and His Highness beat up nine other people yesterday!" 

"Oh, no, that was entirely Dimitri. I didn't do much except cheer him on."

"How selective is your memory!?" Leonie demanded.

"I-if Hilda is sitting out... might I do the same...?"

"Sure! We can chat on the benches together!"

_"Neither_ of you are sitting out," Claude declared. "We are going to charge into the fray like the beautiful, terrifying deer that we are!"

"So much _work_..."

"B-but..."

And then Claude decided to resort to bribery.

"Marianne, I have horse treats and cat toys for you if you participate," Claude said flatly.

Marianne paused.

"Are they healthy—"

"Yes."

"The toys aren't small enough to swallow—"

"No, and they don't break easily either."

"What kind of treats and toys—"

"Sugar cubes, cat wands, and a fake mouse."

Marianne... reluctantly agreed.

Now, Claude turned to Hilda, because Leonie was already going to do the thing anyways. Now, Hilda wanted to not work, so he couldn't exactly use this to make her work...

So he just cupped his hands around his mouth and _yelled_.

"HEY DIMITRI! YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING WIPED OUT?!"

"Claude what the hell are you doing—" Hilda demanded.

And then Dimitri actually stood up from his table with his friends and walked over.

(Ashe and Ingrid looked over with matching grins. Claude gave them a little thumbs-up and a wink.)

"I am looking forward to facing the Golden Deer in battle," Dimitri said, "though, I'm not too sure _we're_ going to be the ones losing."

Hilda was internally screaming, because what the fuck, Claude.

On the outside though, she smiled. 

"Incredible confidence! Have fun, then!" Hilda said.

"No, stop that," Leonie told her. 

"Quit talking like you won't be there!" Claude exclaimed, casually smirking. "Aren't you excited to go toe-to-toe with Dimitri without worrying about silly things like walls and property damage?"

_'CLAUDE, YOU SICK SON OF A BITCH—'_

"I, well, I don't want to hurt my friend...s..." Hilda tacked on the 's' awkwardly, scrambling to find an excuse. "I mean, who decided that we ought to fight against each other in the first place? Wouldn't it be so much better if we were to work together? Or... something..."

Marianne nodded frantically.

"I-I don't want to fight against my friends either!" she exclaimed. "I would... really rather drink tea or groom horses together..."

"Huh...?" Leonie replied, confused.

"Well, um, the girl in the room next to mine, Ingrid... s-sometimes we go and groom our horses together and talk... I don't know if she thinks of me as a f-friend... but I wouldn't want to hurt her," Marianne explained.

"She thinks of you as a friend, I assure you," Dimitri stated, because not even he was immune to the wingman phenomenon. 

"Hey, why don't you tell her that, perhaps over a cup of tea?" Claude offered, pouncing on the wingman chance.

"Really...? But, wouldn't I just be a bother...?"

"No, not at all! In fact, Ingrid would love it!"

"Yeah, it seems like she's rather... _fond_ of you."

Hilda tried to use this chance to escape, only for Leonie to grab her by the wrist and pull her back into her seat. When Hilda gave her a sad, betrayed pout, Leonie's response was to whisper, "no. You are going to be convinced to fight, because our other option for this absolute warrior man is to snipe him with everyone else."

"Why don't you just do that, then?" Hilda asked.

"You want us to be wiped out by the Black Eagles while we're focusing on Dimitri?"

"It doesn't matter who wins? Because we're getting that feast anyways?" Hilda pointed out, _again_.

Marianne then left to go ask Ingrid to a tea party, sufficiently motivated by Claude and Dimitri. She would end up retreating very soon because Ingrid was with actual people and Marianne didn't have the confidence to ask someone in front of an audience, but then Ingrid would chase after her and ask what was wrong dramatically, which would lead to Marianne blurting out that she wanted to spend time together dramatically and sparklingly.

Anyways.

With Marianne gone and doing her best, Claude refocused his attempts on getting Hilda to participate.

"Hey, Your Highness, mind making a wager with me?" Claude asked quietly, while Hilda was distracted from her whispered conversation with Leonie.

"Huh?" 

"I'll tell you the details later," Claude said. "Just be sure to tell Hilda you're looking forward to facing off against her, okay?"

* * *

"...is what he said, but I'm very sure that this is part of a scheme," Dimitri told Hilda bluntly as they sat together at a tea table. They had decided to take a break from studying to try Crescent Moon Tea, bringing lighthearted conversation with it.

"Yep, it's a scheme alright," Hilda said in return, taking an irritated sip from her cup. "He's just trying to make sure I don't sit out of the Battle of the Eagle and the Lion, so it's fine."

"You're going to sit out?" Dimitri asked.

Hilda froze as she stared at Dimitri's disappointed puppy eyes. Oh no. Oh goddess. This was part of Claude's plan. He _planned for their casual trusting friendship._

"I, um, well, it's work," Hilda said. "And if people think I'm super reliable, then they might wind up disappointed in me, so I'd rather just... not give them any expectations."

"Even though you're so skilled?"

"Even a perfect person can mess up," Hilda stated. "Even someone much better than me can make mistakes, so..."

"Even if you make mistakes, people will appreciate your effort."

Hilda's eyes widened at those words.

"Isn't that what you told me?" Dimitri asked. 

He didn't seem to notice how Hilda blushed as he went on.

"The people who put their faith in you... they trust you because you've proven your strength and skill to them," Dimitri told her. "It seems rather difficult to disappoint people when they simply want you to do as you've always done."

There was a moment of silence, before Dimitri added, "I apologize. I'm rather... I don't know the best way to address this, but I'll do my best to help you—"

"No," Hilda said, cutting off his words.

She turned her head back towards him with a bright smile and rosy cheeks, saying, "you already made me feel better, you know? Thank you, Dimitri."

Dimitri paused at the sight of her smile, before telling her he was glad he managed to help.

(Hilda participated in the battle, but that wasn't enough to keep Professor Byleth and the Black Eagles from utterly destroying everyone...

But somehow, she didn't feel too bad about the loss, when everyone was happy and smiling together.)


	28. Bonus: Battle Dialogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this isn't important to anything i just wanted to imagine what the students would say when facing their friends/future spouses  
mercedes cant fight dedue, ashe cant fight felix, and petra cant fight bernadetta, so its fine

** Hilda vs. Dimitri **

Hilda: Oh, Dimitri, isn't there any way you could go easy on me~? Please~?

Dimitri: I'm afraid not. That would be an insult to you and your strength.

Hilda: Ahaha... thought you'd say something like that. 

Dimitri: I'll be taking this fight seriously, so don't hold anything back!

** Hilda vs. Dedue **

Dedue: ...I apologize in advance.

Hilda: No worries! It's just a mock battle, right? I'll forgive you if you don't hit me too hard!

Dedue: You misunderstand. I apologize for taking up the time you could be spending fighting His Highness.

Dedue: He's been looking forward to facing you.

Hilda: H...huh? What? _What?_

** Hubert vs. Hilda/Claude (Dialogue same for both) **

Hubert: You're a dangerous opponent. No wonder Her Majesty took such an interest in you.

Hubert: No matter. I'll dispose of you either way.

**Claude vs. Edelgard**

Claude: Say, princess, should we get a meal together after I win, just you and me?

Edelgard: Claude. You shouldn't be fighting right now. 

Claude: Sorry to disappoint, but I've rested long enough. 

Edelgard: Dammit... if you won't listen to reason, I'll just knock you out myself!

** Claude vs. Dimitri **

Claude: Hey, Your Highness, before we fight...

Dimitri: ...yes, Claude?

Claude: Hilda likes flowers and fashion. If you got her a dress she really likes, she'll love you forever.

Claude: Also a good idea are dates, especially shopping trips. Though, I'm sure you have a grip on that situation.

Dimitri: Wh-what does this have to do with anything?! Stop trying to distract me!

Claude: Ha, seems like it worked!

** Claude vs. Ashe **

Ashe: How're you holding up, Claude?

Claude: Not too bad, you?

Ashe: I'm alright, but I think I'd be a lot better if you were resting right now.

Claude: Hey, if you're so worried, then you mind losing to me before we go through all the effort of fighting?

Ashe: Sorry, but I can't do that.

Claude: Oh darn, it was worth a shot.

** Claude vs. Ingrid **

Ingrid: Are you really going to fight?

Claude: Well, if I'm not, I dragged myself out of bed for nothing!

Ingrid: Ah, I see. So you won't surrender, then? 

Claude: 'fraid not. You?

Ingrid: I won't. Sorry about this, but I'm going to have to beat you.

Claude: Hey, isn't that my line?

** Ingrid vs. Marianne **

Marianne: O-oh...

Ingrid: The tea yesterday was lovely. Thank you for the invitation.

Marianne: You... liked it?

Ingrid: Yes, and I'd love it if we could do it again. Maybe after this battle?

Marianne: Y-yes! I would love to! I've been meaning to... to tell you about Dorte and the others...

Ingrid: I look forward to it!

** Marianne vs. Caspar **

Marianne: I'm sorry... 

Caspar: No, keep your head up! You're on the battlefield, so you can't be looking at your feet!

Marianne: Y-yes!

Caspar: That's the spirit! Now, come on! I'll be fighting with everything I got, so give it your all, too!

Marianne: Alright! I... I will!

** Caspar vs. Sylvain **

Sylvain: Well, look who it is! The little cutie in his battle armour came to see me? I'm honoured.

Caspar: Little?! I'll bring you to your knees!

Sylvain: U-uh... I think you might have misunderstood, I'm actually interested in getting to know you—

Caspar: Get to know the ground, you frickin' beanpole!

** Ignatz vs. Linhardt **

Ignatz: The scenery is rather beautiful... it's a shame we have to spend our time here fighting.

Linhardt: I agree. The open field, the trees, the running river... it's perfect for a long day outside.

Ignatz: Maybe if we end this quickly, we could spend some time enjoying this perfect day!

Linhardt: Interesting hypothesis. Let's test it out right away.

** Lorenz vs. Ferdinand **

Lorenz: I do believe we discussed the possibility of facing each other during our last chat over tea, did we not?

Ferdinand: In fact, we did. And we agreed that it would be a spectacle to beholdl

Lorenz: Shall we put on a show, then?

Ferdinand: We shall!

** Lysithea vs. Annette **

Annette: Oh, oh there he is!

Lysithea: Hm?

Annette: Cyril! He's up there, watching from the cliff with Lady Rhea! Hi!

Lysithea: You're waving to Cyril during a fight...? 

Annette: He's waving back! Say hi!

Lysithea: E-er... hi.

Annette: Okay! Let's do our best and all get candy together after!

Lysithea: Candy...!? I mean, yes! We will!

** Leonie vs. Dorothea **

Dorothea: Nice... very, very nice. 

Leonie: Huh? Dorothea?

Dorothea: Um. I mean, your f-fighting! It's nice! Like a dance! So graceful...!

Leonie: Oh! Thanks!

Leonie: Ha, this is the first time anyone's called my fighting graceful...

Dorothea: S-so! Let me show you how _I_ fight!

Leonie: I'm looking forward to it!

** Raphael vs. Hubert **

Raphael: Let's do our best then, buddy!

Hubert: What... what sort of tactic is this..?! Do you hold no fear of death?

Raphael: Huh? But, you can't hurt me, right?

Hubert: To think so little of my power... you're either a fool or hiding your strength!

Raphael: Aren't you taking this mock battle thing a little too seriously...?

** Raphael vs. Bernadetta **

Raphael: Alright! Seems like we're facing each other!

Bernadetta: Awaawawawaaaa.... 

Raphael: Huh? You alright? Want me to give you a piggyback ride or something after?

Bernadetta: N-no! I'm fine! I'm just trying to psyche myself up!

Raphael: Don't worry! I'm sure you'll do fine!

Bernadetta: Thanks... 

Bernadetta: Wait, why are you telling me I'll do fine when I'm trying to shoot you?

** Edelgard vs. Hilda **

Edelgard: ...couldn't you have kept him from fighting today?

Hilda: I tried. Trust me, I tried.

Edelgard: ...

Hilda: Hey, don't worry. He's strong. He won't get himself hurt again.

Hilda: So quit worrying and just fight it all out, alright?

** Edelgard vs. Dimitri **

Dimitri: So, it is time to cross blades… I have never imagined such a day would come to pass.

Edelgard: ...

Dimitri: Well, it is only a mock battle. Let's have a fair, honourable fight.

Edelgard: I hope you aren't too upset when I take back the victory.


	29. Chapter 29

"A feast! Princess, your kindness will never be forgotten!" Claude exclaimed excitedly. Raphael was already tackling the meat, Ingrid not far behind him.

"And here I thought you'd be moping about your loss for the rest of the night," Edelgard teased.

"It's hard to stay downtrodden in the face of delicious food!" Claude replied with a grin. 

Leonie huffed, saying something along the lines of how the Black Eagles only won because Professor Byleth was on their side, and not even that would help them the next time. Caspar replied with some good-natured bragging, kicking off the start of the lighthearted chatter that had become so common during their meals together.

Edelgard couldn't help but feel a bit sad about the thought of destroying it all...

* * *

"Dimitri, you've got some soup on your face," Hilda said, pausing from her meal.

"Oh? How improper of me..." Dimitri muttered, before Hilda simply smiled and lifted a napkin to his face.

"No worries, I've... got... it..." Hilda started to trail off as she realized just how intimate the action was. Instead of addressing this however, she just smiled and pretended this was totally fine and normal and okay. "It's all gone."

She carefully and casually put the napkin back down, pretending like that never actually happened.

There were so many looks exchanged at the scene. Ashe and Ingrid and Claude looked at each other. Ingrid signalled Felix and Sylvain to care with her eyes. Only Sylvain looked back. Annette giggled with Lysithea and Mercedes and Cyril, the latter of whom didn't really understand what was happening.

Dimitri didn't seem to realize what was happening either. He thanked her politely and kept eating, trying to forget the light feeling of her hand.

Hilda laughed at his confused response, thinking it was cute. 

At the sound of her laugh, Dimitri froze.

What was it that made her laugh so...?

* * *

After the feast ended, it was back to their usual routine.

* * *

In the midst of training, Dimitri realized that he had been checking the door a lot.

He had started to anticipate her arrival, stopped arguing with her telling him to rest.

No, it was more like he had started looking forward to her showing up?

Dimitri couldn't dwell on it any longer, because just then, Hilda opened the doors, a canvas bag hanging from her elbow. Dedue was by her side as she stomped over.

"Dimitri! Dedue told me that you've been here for two hours!" Hilda exclaimed, glaring at him in a worried sort of way. "Go rest!"

Dimitri looked from Dedue to Hilda in confusion, wondering when exactly Dedue had started going to Hilda to stop Dimitri from overworking himself.

Hilda pulled a towel out of her bag, along with a water bottle. She gave Dimitri both of these items, before glaring up at him.

"I'm going to be studying in the library with Claude and Marianne and Leonie, but if Dedue says you're still in here by the time we're done, I'm gonna to drag you back to your room myself!" Hilda threatened.

Dimitri hadn't noticed how much shorter she was compared to him until he was looking down at her angry expression.

"I'll do my best to finish up, then," Dimitri said.

"Good!" Hilda exclaimed, her expression quickly turning into a grin.

She left with a smile and a goodbye of, "have great dreams tonight!"

Dimitri's chest was still heaving from his exercises as he wiped his face with the towel.

Was it wrong that he almost wanted to stay just to see her once more before the day ended?

(As he was laying down in his bed, he realized that he had been sticking to a better sleep schedule ever since the first time she carried him off.)

* * *

"Are you sure you want to carry all of that, Dimitri?" Hilda asked.

Dimitri had accompanied her on a shopping trip in town, since she wanted more materials for her accessory-making hobby. Quite naturally, Dimitri had offered to carry all of her bags.

"I wouldn't have offered if I was incapable of it," Dimitri replied. "Is there anything else you want?"

Hilda pouted, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Dimitri, don't push yourself too hard. I might be delicate, but I can handle at least two of those bags."

"It's not heavy," Dimitri said, attempting to reassure her with a smile.

"Really, you're kind of too knightly sometimes!" Hilda exclaimed. "I kinda feel bad about it, you know? It's like I'm taking advantage of you or something!"

"What? No, I really don't mind at all," Dimitri said. "I'm grateful for the chance to spend time with you!"

Hilda didn't say anything for a moment, before letting out a small laugh. 

"I like spending time with you too, Dimitri," she told him with a smile. "But I still want you to be able to relax around me."

Dimitri paused, wondering if there was anyone else who could give him the same sense of peace as she could.

"Oh! It's His Highness and Hilda, huh?" 

The voice made them both turn, turning to see Dorothea waving. She was going to hang out with Linhardt and Caspar, only to notice the pair.

"Hey!" Hilda greeted in return.

"Hello, are you doing well?" Dimitri asked.

"I'm doing just fine," Dorothea said, before noticing the bags in both of Dimitri's hands.

She looked to Hilda with what seemed to be a growing amount of respect. 

"Congratulations on your great catch!" Dorothea exclaimed, winking. "I'll leave you two to your date, have fun!"

"Eh..." Hilda said as Dorothea ran off. "But... it's not a date..."

She sighed, before shrugging.

"Oh well, we can tell her that we're just friends afterwards," Hilda said casually.

Dimitri couldn't muster a response to that, but he didn't know why.

* * *

"Wow...! I think it's coming out great!" Hilda exclaimed, showing a smile to the others in the kitchen.

"When it comes to baking, I'm very skilled!" Mercedes said proudly.

"I'm really excited!" Ashe said, sharing in the enthusiasm. 

Behind the counter, several others were waiting for some sweets.

Lysithea and Annette were excited for the sweets, and they had dragged Cyril into waiting for some too. He wouldn't ever admit it, but he enjoyed hanging out with the two. He would enjoy it a lot more if he didn't have to work around the monastery.

Dedue was there because Mercedes wanted to thank him for overseeing her attempts at cooking with some sweets. He couldn't help but smile a bit at her excitement.

Felix had no idea why the hell he was there, because he hated sweets, but Ingrid would absolutely not let him escape. He wasn't staring at Ashe's smile or anything, perish the thought. Stab the thought with a million knives while you're at it.

Dimitri was there because Hilda invited him, since sweets could always bring someone's mood up.

"They're ready!"

The trio of bakers set out a plate for each of the waiting spectators. A sweet bun was carefully placed on each plate, waiting to be tested for taste and quality.

Dimitri took a bite of his pastry, Hilda grinning at him in anticipation.

"Well? How is it?" Hilda asked as he swallowed.

"It's... sweet," Dimitri admitted, averting his eyes. "Very sweet."

"Is that good or bad?" Hilda asked.

"I think it will take some getting used to..." Dimitri answered, before his eyes widened.

He almost dropped the sweet bun, his other hand moving to cover his mouth instinctively.

The others were staring, Dedue and Hilda asking if he was alright, but...

Dimitri hadn't noticed it until then.

Since when... had he been able to taste the food he had been eating?

He gulped, showing the others a calming smile. He wasn't choking to death, he assured them.

(Maybe it was the opposite, actually. Maybe he had some new life breathed into him.)

* * *

"Is this the book you were searching for?" Dimitri asked quietly, standing in the library with Claude.

"Dimitri...! This is _perfect_!" Claude said happily, taking the book from the prince's hands. "Thanks a ton, your Highness!"

"It's nothing, really," Dimitri replied.

"Ha, yeah right. You actually want to do a favour for me so I can help you out in return, right?"

"What, no! Of course not!" Dimitri exclaimed, prompting Claude to laugh.

"Yeah, I knew it. But still, I never told you the full details of that wager I wanted to make, did I?" Claude asked.

Dimitri stared at Claude flatly.

"I'm... I think I'm fine," Dimitri said.

"Oh come on, at least hear me out!" Claude said. "I mean, I've been curious..."

"About Crests?" Dimitri asked.

"About girls," Claude answered. "Hilda in particular."

Dimitri froze.

"Don't look so crestfallen!" Claude said immediately, "I don't mean it in _that_ way."

"What way do you mean, then?"

Claude repressed the urge to laugh sinisterly.

"Say, I have a theory that everyone's favourite diva might have the hots for someone," Claude stated. "Want to help me find out whether or not it's true?"

"I... er, think you'd be better off asking her yourself," Dimitri answered, ignoring the voice in his head telling him to ask who it was.

"Oh, you don't want to imagine her with anyone else, huh?" Claude asked. "Don't worry, I get that. It's hard to have a crush on someone, isn't it?"

"C-crush?! Me...!? I..."

"You?" Claude repeated with a sly grin, hoping to catch Dimitri where he trailed off.

Dimitri could not find an adequate answer, so he excused himself and left.

* * *

As Dimitri walked, he desperately tried to reason with himself.

He was just bad at telling friendships from romantic feelings, he thought. Surely, it was just because Hilda had been kind to him. There was no way he could have such feelings for her.

Right?

Her words and actions were bouncing around his head as he tried to make sense of everything.

The memory of her smile as she thanked him...

_"Even if you mess up a bit, people will appreciate the effort!"_

The bracelet she had made for him, still hanging around his wrist...

_"Lysithea really likes Crescent-Moon Tea, so I've been curious! Wanna try it together next time?"_

Their shared confusion over vulneraries and vulnerabilities as they studied together... 

_"It's fun talking to you, so... even if it's pretty sad, I'll be okay with listening to you."   
_

How beautiful she was in the moonlight, his cloak around her shoulders...

_"If... if you ever want me to be there for you, I'll be there, okay? All you have to do is ask."_

The sight of her smashing a frying pan in half with her bare hands...

_"I can't have you getting into trouble without me if I can help it."_

Dimitri's blush somehow worsened as he remembered how strong she was, before he tried to dismiss such impure thoughts from his mind.

He managed to almost make it back to his dorm room, before he spotted Hilda petting a cat with Petra.

The pigtailed girl noticed him quickly, her face brightening into a smile as she waved at him.

_'Oh no,' _Dimitri thought at the sight, completely incapable of suppressing it anymore. _'I have feelings for Hilda.'_

* * *

This was apparently the kind of thought that kept Dimitri awake at three am in the morning.

Look, it was _not_ his fault that his usual nightmare programming of guilt-induced visions of everyone dying went off the rails when he was offered a hand up. The moment he took the girl's hand, he felt less powerless and scared and more... calm. Like everything would be alright, as long as he kept holding that warm hand.

And then his dream suddenly went from that to him covered in blood, the girl turning away from him in disgust and fear as he toppled over and into the flaming recesses of his mind.

Dimitri woke up immediately afterwards, his heart pounding.

He tried to remind himself that he _couldn't_ feel anything but friendship for Hilda, because no matter what, his feelings wouldn't be returned. That she would be disgusted and angry at him for it, that he had nothing to offer her in return for staying with him. 

But, as guilty as he felt about it, he let himself imagine it.

Being able to hold her hand, being able to tell her all the ways she was incredible, even if she didn't realize it... Being able to get her gifts she liked and make her happy, seeing her outside the academy, seeing her smile...

Dimitri let himself have those sorts of fantasies until he drifted back to sleep.

* * *

The next day, Professor Byleth was in the chapel, answering confessional notes.

"There's five notes in the box," the sister announced as the Professor approached, before taking out the papers.

They were both stunned to find that, actually, instead of being five separate papers, someone had stuck together five sheets to create what was possibly the longest question either of them had ever seen.

Professor Byleth looked to the sister, who shrugged in confusion before handing it over.

Professor Byleth scanned through the letter, several key phrases sticking out to them.

_'There's a certain person I cannot banish from my thoughts recently.'_

_'When they enter the room, everything seems to calm down. No, I'm the one calming down. They give me a sense of peace I haven't felt in a long time.'_

_'When they smile, feelings of joy overtake me.'_

_'It doesn't happen often, but when they touch me, I feel... exhilarated. Happy. It's as if their hands can heal me.'_

_'Thanks to them, the world feels brighter. I can forget my troubles and enjoy things I've overlooked before. Thanks to them, the world has flavour again.'_

_'I beg of you. Please tell me how to banish these feelings.'_

Byleth stared at the last line for several seconds.

When the answer was posted for all to see, it became a phenomenon. Virtually everyone had gone over to read the legendary confessional love letter. Students came from all the houses, from every class. Even Professor Manuela checked it out and sobbed over the beauty of youth, a baffled Seteth having to check if she was drunk or something.

However, what really did it for everyone was the Professor's dry response. 

_'Please just confess to them already.'_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the initial draft for this chapter involved this:
> 
> dimitri: hey google how do i emotionally repress all of my emotions until i fucking die


	30. Chapter 30

Now, of course Hilda had to check out the legendary love letter. Of course she recognized Dimitri's handwriting from the letters they had exchanged, from the notes she had seen him write while they were studying.

It's just... the letter was long, okay? And the papers provided for confessional notes were small, so the writing was pretty small too... plus, there was an entire crowd around it, so Hilda wasn't actually that close to it...

Basically, Hilda had barely read it, despite recognizing that Dimitri was the writer.

She absentmindedly began to wonder who it was, despite feeling her heart sink at the idea of Dimitri liking someone else.

"Maybe this was all a ploy to confess to Professor Byleth...?" Hilda whispered.

Sylvain, who had been there to sigh at his childhood friend and was next to her in the crowd, looked at her in a mix of surprise and utter confusion.

"You... huh?" he attempted, before clearing his throat. "You don't... you think Dimitri likes _the Professor_?"

"I mean, Professor Byleth is the one answering the letters," Hilda reasoned. "Having an anonymous love letter delivered to you in such an innocent context is bound to get someone's heart pounding!"

Sylvain filed this away as information to hand to Ashe and Ingrid later, because goddess knew those two would use it better than Dimitri.

But, anyways, Sylvain's reaction to this was a mix between _'this never would have happened if Dimitri took my advice more seriously' _and _'dammit, did he give her a dagger? Is this why she doesn't realize he has a crush on her? Because he expresses his love with daggers?'_

"Random question," Sylvain said suddenly. "Do you know of Dimitri giving anyone daggers?"

Hilda paused, before saying, "that really is random. But no, why?"

"See, there was this one time when we were kids..."

* * *

Hilda had dragged Dimitri over to the greenhouse, the two wandering about the space aimlessly while the greenhouse keeper was sorting out Professor Byleth’s newest batch of seeds.

Normally, it would be a quiet, peaceful moment, the two of them chatting about whatever came to mind in the comfortable space.

Normally.

Now, Dimitri had been trying to break his newfound habit of staring at Hilda, as there was no way that sort of longing-fuelled staring would not end badly if witnessed by, say, the other members of the Golden Deer. Or the Blue Lions. And the Black Eagles. And Hilda herself.

Unfortunately, Dimitri wasn’t having much luck, which made his heart stop for a single moment when, in turning to look at Hilda admiring the flowers, they made eye contact.

His eyes widened in shock, just as Hilda smiled at him.

“...hrk…! Hehehahahahahahahaha_hahahahaha!”_

And then she doubled over laughing.

Dimitri had conflicted feelings in that moment.

On one hand, she truly had a charming laugh and beautiful smile, and he was honoured to be seeing both. On the other hand, he had no idea what was happening. Was she ill?

“...Hilda? Are you alright?”

“Snrk--! D-Dimitri, I mean, it’s fine! It’s fine, it’s totally fine!” Hilda insisted, visibly holding herself back from more laughter.

“Are you feeling unwell? Should I escort you to the sickbay?”

Hilda immediately threw her head back in uproarious laughter.

“What a gentleman! A prince! The _image_ of chivalry!” she exclaimed, before dissolving into more cackling. “How in the world did this guy wind up giving a girl a dagger as a gift?!”

“H-how did you know about that?!” Dimitri demanded in shock.

“Sylvain,” Hilda answered immediately. Dimitri didn’t know why he expected any other answer.

“Th-that was years ago, alright?! Please, do not take that to mean that I am always so… _inadequate_ in these matters!”

Hilda pressed her fist to her lips in a desperate attempt to stop herself from laughing again. She was actually beginning to tear up.

“Is it really that funny?” Dimitri asked, dismayed.

“Yeah,” Hilda answered bluntly. “I can totally still see you giving a girl a dagger as a gift.”

She prompted Dimitri to look towards the section of the greenhouse devoted to flowers, smiling down at the multicoloured blossoms.

“I mean, don’t get me wrong, there are people who actually like training and all, but for me, I would totally want flowers!” she exclaimed, crouching down to appreciate them from up close. “I mean, they’re so pretty, right?”

“But, wouldn't it make more sense to give something useful?” Dimitri asked.

Hilda hummed, before spotting something interesting and beckoning him closer.

Dimitri awkwardly squatted down next to her, before she plucked a single forget-me-not and stuck the light blue flower behind his ear.

“Cute, right?” she asked with a bright smile.

“Er, I suppose…?” Dimitri replied, having tried too hard to not blurt out something embarrassing. Hilda rolled her eyes in response.

“Oh, come on, you’re adorable and you know it,” she said. “I would make you a flower crown, but I don’t wanna pluck too many flowers… but just one is fine, right?”

Dimitri didn’t answer that. Instead, Hilda began to speak without thinking about it too hard.

“Let’s see… you can use flowers to make flower crowns and other decorations, they’re especially nice if you dip them in wax and spin them as they dry, but that’s extra effort… you can use ‘em to make perfumes and other scented stuff, too! Oh, and I think some flowers and other plants are edible, but I’m too sure which ones…” Hilda trailed off, turning towards Dimitri.

The soft light atop her pink hair, her kind smile, her slightly upturned gaze, all of it created an image that seemed designed to strike Dimitri in the heart.

“See? Flowers have tons of uses!” she exclaimed happily. “It’s just that you’re so focused on fighting and ruling and studying that you never take the time to appreciate them!”

Dimitri paused to think.

“Then, if I were to stop and appreciate the things around me (life) more… perhaps my burden (desire for vengeance) would be lifted…” he muttered.

“Well, maybe your burden (royal duties) would never be completely lifted, but taking time to heal (relax) will help you, you know? Everyone needs that sense of peace (to relax from stress).”

“But, if I were to grow too accustomed to peace (happiness), would I not be neglecting my duties (to get revenge)?”

“Hmm, well, your duties are important and all, but you always gotta keep yourself in mind,” Hilda told him. “Forgetting (to take care of) yourself is dangerous, you know? There are so many scary consequences (losing sleep, stress, etc)...!”

Dimitri’s gaze went to a far-off place, as he sometimes did with Hilda.

“Yes… I must never forget myself (lose sight of who I am), for the consequences (of descending into bloodlust) are far too great…”

Hilda laughed.

“You’re gonna be a great king someday,” she promised. “But that’s in the future! For now, you don’t have to be anyone but the devoted, studious, serious dude you are!”

Dimitri let out a short chuckle.

“I will keep that in mind,” he said, hand reaching up to touch the flower once again.

* * *

Out of curiosity, that night, Dimitri went to grab a book on the language of flowers from the library.

_‘Forget-me-not: These flowers carry the meaning of ‘true love’. As the name suggests, they are often used as gifts or decorations to ensure the recipient will not forget the giver. More of its meanings include remembrance and faithful love--’_

Dimitri slammed the book shut.

Ashe and Ingrid immediately went to check on him. Dimitri had to insist that he was alright and everything was okay, all while trying to hide a single flower behind his back.

(Was it just him, or did Ashe and Ingrid have these weird, knowing smiles...?)


	31. Chapter 31

"You're eating the spicy dango?" Hilda asked. A few months of eating at the same table as Dimitri taught her that he preferred cheesy dishes and sweets, so she was curious about the sudden change.

Dimitri paused, trying to find an explanation that didn't involve telling her and the entire table that he hadn't been able to taste anything since a major traumatic experience until recently and now he was extremely curious about the flavour of all the food on the menu he had forsaken in favour of foods with familiar textures.

He eventually settled on, "I thought it would be a waste to not try the foods from different cultures available here."

"Oh, that makes sense," Hilda said. "Does it taste any good?"

"I can feel my mouth burning," Dimitri answered, because he didn't actually know if he liked the sensation yet.

Hilda laughed.

"Yeah, that's what spicy food _does," _Hilda said. 

Dimitri had to point his gaze away from her smile, an action Hilda interpreted as a sign of embarrassment.

Embarrassment because he couldn't handle spicy food, of course.

She managed to connect all the dots and still get the wrong picture.

With a smile, she offered, "hey, if you want to try something less spicy, you could have some of my Two-Fish Sauté."

"H-huh? Really?" Dimitri asked. "Isn't that your favourite meal?"

"Yeah, but food's better if you share it with a friend, right?" 

Hilda's words were a pointed reminder to the two of them that their relationship was friendly and platonic. Clearly.

And then Hilda fucked up, because she jokingly added, "I'll even feed it to you if you want me to!"

"A-alright."

The two of them instantly froze, trying to process both what they had said and what the other had said. The two of them were blushing when Dimitri broke the silence.

"That was a joke," Dimitri said hurriedly. "I've been attempting to practice levity recently. I heard that it was a good way to provide a more comfortable atmosphere."

"Oh, oh, so _that_ was it!" Hilda exclaimed, forcing a flustered smile on her face. "Geez, I almost couldn't tell!"

"I apologize, I'll strive to provide a more enjoyable joke at the soonest opportunity."

Neither of them noticed how Ingrid stabbed her fork through her plate in despair, or how Ashe held his face in his hands sorrowfully, or how Claude had introduced his face to the table, or how Sylvain was staring in shock, or how suddenly exasperated Felix was, or how even Marianne and Bernadetta were staring...

The only person who didn't react to this scene much was Professor Byleth. They just kept eating their sweet bun, even though the two they were eating with, Mercedes and Annette, were both distracted.

This feat was even more impressive because Byleth was the only person capable of perceiving the one reacting the most to the scene.

_"YOU FOOLS!"_ Sothis screamed, floating above Dimitri and Hilda's heads furiously. _"Don't you mortals have a single iota of sense?!"_

Professor Byleth ignored everything as Sothis floated over to the other side, eavesdropping on the plan Claude was sharing with Ingrid, Ashe, and now Sylvain.

Sothis shook her head sadly.

_"No, it's not that all mortals lack sense (for these ones seem perfectly aware of what is to come), it's simply these two in particular..."_

And then Sothis got an idea.

Professor Byleth let out a quiet sigh as Sothis suddenly started to give them orders.

* * *

To be perfectly frank, Professor Byleth kind of expected Sothis' plan to involve possessing one of the pair and asking the other half out.

They were actually kind of surprised when step one of the plan was just inviting Dimitri to tea.

Sothis directed their hand towards a certain type of tea. They didn't bother questioning the sudden change in tea, because that would require questioning how she knew everyone's favourite tea and meals in the first place.

"Crescent Moon Tea...?" Dimitri asked, recognizing the scent.

Byleth stared at Dimitri flatly, which was their expression of surprise.

"Ah, forgive me. I was just recalling some pleasant memories," Dimitri said, picking up his teacup.

Byleth's immediate reply was to ask if Dimitri was in love.

Dimitri almost died from choking on his tea.

"Th-that, I—"

_"Keep the foolish mortal distracted!" _Sothis ordered, before going off to goddess-knows-where.

Byleth kind of mentally shrugged and went with it. They offered Dimitri a napkin, which he took gratefully.

When he took the napkin from their hand, though, he saw the object underneath.

The note telling him to just confess already.

This sent Dimitri into another coughing fit.

Byleth waited until Dimitri was breathing properly again and had recovered at most a fifth of his dignity before telling him that Hilda recently started liking Crescent Moon Tea too.

Possibly for the same reasons, they hinted.

They almost felt bad for Dimitri, because the blond was very embarrassed and blushing very hard.

And then they noticed something he didn't.

_"Go on, just a bit further, please... yes, that's it. You're doing well!"_

They instantly knew exactly what was going to happen, but did nothing to stop it.

Sothis was guiding a goose straight to Dimitri, who was too flustered and embarrassed to notice.

As the goose honked and stole Dimitri's bracelet, Byleth briefly wondered why Sothis was nicer to a bird than them.

* * *

_"Go, go, go, my feathery fiend! Keep running!"_

"Get back here, you—!"

Heads turned at the sight and sound of the leader of the Blue Lions, heir to the Kingdom... chasing after a goose.

"Huh," Claude said, looking away from his game of chess with Edelgard. "That's happening." 

"It... sure is," Edelgard replied, completely stunned by the baffling event.

* * *

Hilda heard some strange sounds as she left the greenhouse.

She went to investigate the sound, kneeling by the edge of the pond to see--

Dimitri... wading through the water, yelling at a goose.

...eh.

"Dimitri?" Hilda asked, making Dimitri freeze. "Dimitri, what are you doing?"

Dimitri turned back towards her, a bit bashful as he said, "a bird has stolen something important to me..."

Hilda squinted at the goose floating on the water's surface. It was holding the bracelet she made for Dimitri in its beak.

"Dimitri, I could have just made you another one," Hilda said simply. "It's fine. It's not like I'll hold it against you or anything."

She smiled down at him, holding out her hand to reach him.

"Come on, you'll get sick again if you don't get changed soon."

Dimitri went to reach for her hand...

As Dedue came running, and without hesitation, dove into the pond to retrieve Dimitri's bracelet for him.

His entry sent waves through the water, splashing both Hilda and Dimitri. 

Which was a terrible, terrible thing. 

Both Dedue and Dimitri had managed to avoid getting sick, but the next day, Hilda was bedridden with a fever.

Manuela, previously informed of what had happened by Byleth, sent Dimitri to care for her. While suppressing winks and little giggles, because _goddess_ knew that most of the school had been waiting for this.

Dimitri wanted to protest because it was a terrible idea for many reasons, but was held silent because, Hilda had cared for him when he was sick. He was bound by his honour (and the fact that he cared a lot about her) to make sure she was okay.

So, despite all his protests to being in her room alone, he went. Mercedes helped him grab supplies to care for a sick person.

His classmates promised to grab him the classwork. Once classes ended, her classmates in the Golden Deer would visit to hand her the work, plus all the rest of Hilda's friends.

But first, Dimitri had to care for Hilda.

Obviously, he blamed himself for her getting sick.

But, when he tried to apologize, Hilda just said it was fine. It wasn't his fault.

Dimitri would have tried to argue, but then Hilda pouted while glaring at him and told him, "hey, I'm not blaming you! So you shouldn't blame yourself, either!"

Now, this move was already pretty effective on Dimitri by sheer virtue of Hilda being stubborn enough to make Dimitri back off. But, this time, Hilda had her hair down, plus she was wearing her nightgown... 

There was absolutely no way he could keep going with his self-depreciation in the face of such cuteness...

So instead, Dimitri went about trying to help her out. 

Dimitri pulled her desk chair up to her bedside. He went to check her temperature with his hand, before realizing that his gloves would obviously interfere with the process. Dimitri took off his gloves quickly.

Hilda was staring, he noticed, as she pulled her blanket higher over her body.

"Is something wrong?" Dimitri asked.

Hilda hesitated. 

Actually, she didn't even notice how often he wore gloves until he was removing them. It was only the second time she had seen him without gloves, like how it was the second time he was seeing her in her nightgown. Thinking of it like that made it feel... special. Intimate, even.

Deciding not to ever tell him that, Hilda answered with, "no, nothing."

Dimitri seemed concerned as he pressed the back of his hand to her forehead.

Hilda gulped, before simply saying, "your hand's cold."

"I apologize," Dimitri replied, pulling his hand away.

He grabbed a damp cloth for her, thanking Mercedes for her wisdom.

Dimitri brushed Hilda's bangs aside, slowly, tenderly. Both of them tried not to focus on the feeling of his fingers brushing against her skin.

Almost too quickly, the moment came to an end, with his hand being replaced by a simple cloth. 

"Would you like anything else?" Dimitri asked. "I can grab some tea or a meal for you."

Hilda thought it over. She wasn't really hungry, and she didn't really want any tea...

"Can you stay here?" Hilda found herself asking quietly.

"...pardon?" 

"Um, no, forget it," Hilda said, pulling her blanket all the way up to cover her face. "I'll just go to sleep. Thanks a lot."

"No, wait, I just didn't hear you!" Dimitri exclaimed quickly. "If there's anything I can do, please tell me."

"But it's really small and stupid," Hilda said. "It's fine."

"I don't mind," Dimitri told her. "I'll listen to any request you want to make." 

Hilda peeked out over the top of her blanket, only the top of her head and her eyes visible as she looked towards Dimitri.

"Then..."

She trailed off. Dimitri waited for her to keep going.

"Can you hold my hand?" Hilda asked, poking one of her hands out from the blanket..

"A-alright."

"Yeah, I knew you wouldn't... just forget it, okay? I just--"

Hilda froze, because Dimitri was already holding her hand.

"...am I doing this correctly?" Dimitri asked in concern.

"Yeah... you are," Hilda answered, feeling her face warm. 

Dimitri wasn't even going to question why she asked for it, but she explained anyways. It was more for her own ears than his, really.

"When I was younger, my brother used to hold my hand until I fell asleep when I got sick," she said. "When I got older, though, he got more and more busy. I didn't want to make him work harder than he already was, so I stopped telling him whenever I got sick."

She smiled, even though her head was spinning.

"Your hand... it feels nice," Hilda said simply.

"I'm glad I could comfort you."

"Mhm... Thank you, Dimitri. For everything."

She drifted off into sleep after that, a smile on her face.

"I should be the one thanking you," Dimitri said quietly, so as to not disturb her. "Rest well. I hope you have pleasant dreams."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> alternate title: EVEN THE GODDESS WANTS YOU TWO TO KISS


	32. Chapter 32

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this happened.  
[https://rainbow-unicorn-banzai-party.tumblr.com/post/188677867920/holy-shit-okaymore-a-ctivities-what-do ](https://rainbow-unicorn-banzai-party.tumblr.com/post/188677867920/holy-shit-okaymore-a-ctivities-what-do)

Manuela was trying to keep Hilda and Dimitri from wrecking the training hall again by making them sing in the chapel with her. This provided Claude, Ashe, and Ingrid with the perfect chance to scheme in the courtyard, because scheming was just how they hung out.

"Listen, I'm just saying, if we can trick Hilda into thinking that kissing someone on the cheek is a greeting in Faerghus..." Claude said.

"She's not tall enough," Ingrid countered immediately.

"How are we going to convince her when she's known us all for eight months and never saw anyone do that before?" Ashe asked.

"Plus, I don't really want to kiss Ashe on the cheek," Ingrid said, before adding, "No offense, Ashe."

"No worries," Ashe replied, before adding, "Plus, wouldn't His Highness kind of die if Hilda kissed him anywhere?"

Claude paused. 

"Then, if I can convince _him_ that it's a tradition in the Alliance..."

"Utterly impossible," Ingrid answered. "Do you really think His Highness would be able to do that? And _live_?"

"...wow," Ashe said, because wasn't this Dimitri's childhood friend?

"Well, if we don't have any other options, we can always go for Plan M," Claude stated.

"No, we can't," Ingrid retorted. "We are not even _considering_ Plan M. _Ever_."

"Is it really _that_ bad...?" Ashe asked. 

"Yes, Ashe."

"No, it was a great idea. Ingrid's just allergic to great ideas," Claude said.

"No, Claude. It's a terrible idea. It's a terrible idea in every possible way."

"What's this about terrible ideas?" Leonie asked, pausing in her walk with Marianne.

Ashe quickly explained the situation, causing the other two girls to start pondering.

"I know training together helps people get closer," Leonie said, before backtracking, "no, wait, they already do that all the time. All they manage to do is break stuff."

"Maybe... horseback riding?" Marianne suggested. "Or caring for horses... together..."

Marianne and Ingrid exchanged a glance. Claude had to repress a smirk at the sight, since, well.

"That's a great idea, but... Hilda can't ride a horse," he said solemnly.

"O-oh... sorry."

"No, thank you two for your contribution!" Ingrid exclaimed quickly. "If you ever want someone to ride with, well... you know where to find me."

Marianne nodded, before she and Leonie made their exit.

Claude actually smirked because of that exchange. Ashe had to physically prevent Ingrid from forcibly wiping that smile off of Claude's face.

"Okay, so we're back at square... two point one," Claude said, because they had probably gotten somewhere. Maybe. 

"What sort of things would finally cause a relationship...?" Ashe wondered.

"Aren't you two the romance novel experts?" Claude asked.

"_Knightly tale_ fans," Ingrid corrected. 

"Usually in those novels, the main couple confesses on a blood-soaked battlefield, injured and fighting to their last breath," Ashe stated.

"...yeah, that's... not going to work," Claude said. "Anything else?"

Ashe raised his hand.

Claude turned to him, causing Ashe to awkwardly say, "oh, no, I don't have an idea. I'm just waving to Annette and Lysithea and Cyril."

Claude turned around, seeing the baby shortie squad hanging out.

"I wonder if they would have any ideas..." Ingrid said.

"What, no, they're babies—" 

Ingrid already left to ask them.

Claude and Ashe just fucking followed her, because Ingrid was unstoppable.

The answers they got were...

"Oh, oh, baking together!" Annette exclaimed. "And eating together, studying together! There's so much they can do!"

"They already do that, though," Lysithea pointed out, making Annette deflate.

"Why's this important, anyways?" Cyril asked.

"It's fun," Claude answered.

Cyril's reply was a flat stare and a, "do you guys really have enough time to waste like this?"

"Hey, but it's just being helpful, right?" Annette asked. "You know, like you want to help Lady Rhea."

Cyril paused, thinking it over very carefully.

"No, it's really not," Cyril answered.

"Yes, you really should focus on your duties," Lysithea said with a proud smile. "I don't read much in the way of romantic literature, but I do have a simple plan that you could use."

"Lysithea, our little saviour!" Claude exclaimed, ruffling Lysithea's hair.

"It's only so you stop wasting time on this and get back to studying!" Lysithea huffed.

Her plan went as follows: 

1) Hilda would be in the library.

2) The book she wanted was on the highest shelf.

3) Dimitri helps and looks smooth. 

4) Love.

It actually was plenty simple, something Lysithea was proud of as she left with her friends.

But then the scheming trio thought over it harder...

"His Highness would probably ask if he could help first..." Ingrid said.

"And because it's Hilda, her answer would be," Claude paused to clear his throat, _"'Oh, sure thing! Do you mind grabbing this book here for me? Thanks a ton!'"_

"How is it that somehow, being more knightly made it less romantic?" Ashe asked.

"Asking ruins the sudden surprise, plus, they're so casual with each other that asking means that they establish the normal, usual, friendly boundaries."

"Huh, yeah, that makes sense," Claude said, before turning to stare at the sudden person behind him in shock. 

P....people.

Raphael waved to the trio, carrying the rambling Bernadetta in a piggyback ride.

"Hmm... if they could meet in a suitably romantic way... oh! If they met in a bar, with the runaway noble girl not knowing that the person she's serving is the king in disguise..."

"But they already met," Ashe pointed out.

"Shh, I want to hear this," Ingrid said.

"Wait wait wait wait what am I doing I should not be doing anything aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah—"

"I don't get it," Raphael said as Bernadetta began screaming. "Why d'you need such complicated plans? I can just go ahead and..."

Raphael started walking away, towards the chapel, bringing Bernadetta with him.

"...Raphael? Buddy? What are you doing?" Claude asked, concerned.

And then Raphael started running. 

"Raphael?!"

"And... they're gone," Ingrid said blandly.

"Should... should we stop them?" Ashe asked.

"We probably should!" Claude exclaimed, because nothing good could come out of three of the strongest people in the school being in one building full of fragile glass and pieces of art.

And then he tripped over Linhardt.

Linhardt was napping as Ignatz drew a picture of the lake.

Claude dramatically told Ingrid and Ashe to keep going on without him, as he'd just slow them down.

They did.

Claude didn't have time to feel betrayed, because Ignatz, Mercedes, and Dedue went to check if he was okay. The latter two had seen him fall from their classroom.

Linhardt yawned as he woke up in the midst of the action, asking what was happening.

Claude tried to explain, but also, he was very dramatic, and thus had to start the story with, "so we were all trying to find ways to make Hilda and Dimitri _finally_ end up together..."

"Make them nap together. Done," Linhardt said, before trying to go back to sleep.

"...His Highness doesn't nap," Dedue stated.

"A pity, he should try it sometimes," Linhardt said, nonchalantly laying down on top of Ignatz.

Ignatz tried to be flustered, but then Claude asked him for ideas, and Ignatz had to think.

"Maybe... if they had to pose together? For a drawing?" Ignatz offered.

"So, like, one of yours?"

Ignatz immediately ignited, because there was no way he could manage a drawing of two people in it. Linhardt was very opposed to the noise, and draped himself over Ignatz in a very catlike way.

Claude turned to Dedue, who shook his head.

"I cannot," Dedue said. "His Highness asked my help in suppressing his feelings."

Claude narrowed his eyes in an emotion that couldn't quite be defined.

It was more of a _'that idiot did what'_ mixed with _'WHY ARE YOU PEOPLE SO DUMB' _mixed with _'I AM SO CLOSE TO STEALING CUPID'S ARROWS AND SHOOTING YOU PEOPLE IN THE FACE' _than an emotion with a name.

"Oh, maybe ghost stories!" Mercedes exclaimed happily. "If one gets scared and clings to the other—"

"No," Dedue said simply.

Claude nodded, because he was thinking that a scary story would just prompt Hilda and Dimitri to destroy everything so there were no shadows for ghosts to hide in.

"Oh, alright," Mercedes said.

Claude thanked them and went off on his way.

Ashe and Ingrid went back for him, meeting him along with, uh. A lot of people. Edelgard, Felix, Caspar, Petra, Dorothea, Sylvain, the tea buddies. Hubert.

"We needed everyone together to stop Raphael," Ingrid explained, singlehandedly making Hubert's fear/admiration of Raphael improve. Or get worse. One or the other.

Ashe had already explained the situation.

Edelgard immediately proposed a plan with a smile, suggesting having Hilda change her hairstyle to make Dimitri's heart throb at the sudden change.

"That's a great idea!" Dorothea exclaimed. "If we dress her up too, it'll be an extra kick to the heart!"

"Oh, a makeover?" Edelgard asked. "I was thinking something a bit more... forceful, but that will do too."

"...Princess, were you suggesting setting Hilda's hair on fire?" Claude asked.

There was a moment of silence as everyone stared at Edelgard...

"Princess, please, we need to talk about that _'ends justify the means' _philosophy of yours, especially when it comes to hurting our friends," Claude said, making Edelgard flinch.

"So, would you rather we throw one or both down the stairs?" Hubert asked, because he made a grave error regarding what the fuck was happening. He thought Edelgard was throwing out an euphemism for assassination.

"Please stop," Claude asked.

And then Lorenz and Ferdinand spoke. And laughed.

They suggested a tea party, because there was nothing as soul-baring and romantic-subtext-laden as tea parties.

"They already do those _'''platonically,'''" _Claude said, air quotes and all.

Ferdinand and Lorenz were completely stunned into silence.

"I am not understanding," Petra said. "Is this not a problem resolved by locking into a room alone?"

"Ah, Plan N," Ashe said.

"No!" Ingrid exclaimed instinctively.

"N! Not M!" Ashe corrected quickly.

"What's Plan M?" Caspar asked, and Ingrid's face grew pale.

"Oh, it's—"

"No!" Ingrid cut off Claude's explanation. "We are not exposing anyone's muscles!"

"...no, that actually could work," Felix said.

"That's a great idea!" Caspar exclaimed, making Ingrid scream.

"I kinda want to see that," Dorothea admitted, making Ingrid scream harder.

"Is there really no other way?!" Ingrid demanded. "Nothing?! Nothing else at all?!"

"Love letters?" Sylvain suggested.

"Yes!" Ingrid cried out in relief. "Like love letters!"

"I'll steal the letter from the chapel and hand it to Hilda," Ashe said.

"You? Committing theft?" Felix asked incredulously. 

"I've done it before and I'll do it again," Ashe replied.

Felix didn't have time to ponder on sudden bad boy syndrome Ashe, because then Sylvain said, 

"No, no, there's no way that could end well. I was thinking more like, author one ourselves. Maybe one asking her to the ball next month?"

Claude's eyes lit up in delight.

"The ball! That's it! I've got a crazy, stupid idea!"

(Hilda sneezed in the middle of choir practice.

"Are you alright?" Dimitri asked. "Would you like a handkerchief?"

"No, I'm good," Hilda answered. "I just have the feeling that something bad will happen...")


	33. Chapter 33

Claude had practically barricaded himself in the library, absolutely burning through books on Garreg Mach's history, past archbishops, and the history of the church.

Now, there were a list of people who knew what he was doing. The list consisted of himself, Ingrid, and Ashe, because he had dragged the latter two into helping him.

There was also a list of people who didn't know what he was doing, but _thought_ they knew.

This list consisted of Solon and Edelgard, and they had both come to the same conclusion.

Claude was onto something important.

Something very, very, very important that tied together the church, the building, the archbishops, and Crests.

Now, Solon wasn't one for fear. Fear was what a person felt when they were confronted with an actual threat.

But there was a certain... apprehension about him, as Claude investigated. The nagging feeling that he saw through the disguise, that he could free Edelgard from their grasp...

(No matter. He would simply crush that boy under his grip.)

Edelgard, on the other hand, was delighted, terrified, and anxious.

If Claude was going to learn the truth, then he'd be on her side. She would never have to strike him down. They could make their ideal world together.

But she was scared. 

She was scared Claude was making himself a target. She was scared he would still denounce her, say her way was wrong. That she would have to...

Edelgard didn't know when she had gone from thinking her actions were regrettable, but necessary, to wishing she didn't have to.

But as the days went on, she found her resolve wavering.

No one in the monastery asked for war. None of the innocent people she would drag into bloodshed asked for war. Her mission was right, but she would have to destroy the stubborn, growing feeling in her chest...

* * *

"You alright there, princess?" Claude asked, and Edelgard snapped back to reality.

She was in a restaurant, eating lunch with Claude. 

"I'm fine," Edelgard said simply. "You were saying?"

Claude shook his head, pointing his skewer at Edelgard. "Hey, I've rambled on enough about the monastery's traditions, haven't I? I want to hear what's on your mind."

Edelgard hesitated.

"I was mostly thinking of what you were researching," Edelgard answered.

"So, you were lost in thought over the legends of the Goddess Tower, and not possibly thinking about terrible enemies?" Claude asked.

"Wh-what?" 

Claude took her surprise as an admission of guilt, frowning as he said, "I knew it."

"You... did?" Edelgard asked.

"Another one of those jerks that thinks you must have had something to do with Monica did something, didn't they?" Claude said. "Hilda and I have been yelling at them to knock it off, but I guess we couldn't stop everyone. Sorry."

Edelgard's heart sank.

These people... trusted her so much. They defended her, but... _but..._

"Princess?"

Claude's concerned eyes were like a dagger in her. 

"You shouldn't have," she said, struggling to keep her voice even. Unemotional. 

The truth blocked her throat and threatened to fall from her tongue.

"Of course I should've," Claude answered. "No matter what others say about you, I'm on your side, Edelgard."

Her heart was pounding. She couldn't look him in the eyes.

He was offering his hand to a desperate girl who wanted nothing more than to take it.

She wanted to trust him, she wanted him by her side, she wanted _him_ rather than those snakes she loathed, she wanted...

A thought clicked together in Edelgard's head as her heart hammered away in her chest.

_"...can I?"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> huh this is the first chapter where hilda and dimitri dont show up. oh well.


	34. Chapter 34

Claude had recently started dragging Professor Byleth into the library too.

Solon immediately interpreted this in the worst possible way, cancelled his plans for Remire, and retreated into the depths of the library for a very long time.

Claude was just telling them about an idea he had, because Byleth were simultaneously the most likely to help if he straight-up asked and the weirdest, most accessible of the teachers. 

Because a lot of research and discussion with Ashe and Ingrid about how to best use the Goddess Tower to their advantage had given him _lots_ of ideas.

* * *

Professor Byleth called for Edelgard in the dining hall.

"Professor, is something the matter?" Edelgard asked.

Professor Byleth mentioned something from a discussion they had with the teachers of the other houses.

"I see... wait. Wait, _Professor_—?!"

* * *

Hilda was smirking behind her hand, trying very hard not to outright start laughing. And failing.

"...Hilda," Dimitri said simply, "please."

"I'm—! _Sorry!" _Hilda exclaimed between giggles. "It's just...! The White Heron Cup! Did you even _want_ to be the representative?!"

"No," Dimitri answered. "I absolutely did not."

"And you got chosen anyways?" Hilda asked.

"...yes," Dimitri admitted.

Hilda started laughing again, the sound seeming so much louder in the empty gazebo they were sitting in.

"I had no choice!" Dimitri exclaimed defensively. "Professor Manuela had informed me that the house leaders were the ones chosen to represent their houses, just as they led their houses, so I couldn't object..."

"Oh, so Claude's not the only one!" Hilda said. "Gosh, it's probably be so awkward at the competition when they're flirting and all, and you're just trying to dance."

"Please do not remind me of the competition..." Dimitri requested.

"Don't worry, Claude sucks at dancing," Hilda said instantly. "You'd have to be drunk to lose to him."

(Claude had the sudden feeling he ought to have been offended.)

"That's... not what I meant," Dimitri said. "I just... it's a bit embarrassing to be put on the spot like that..."

Hilda hummed, before standing up from the gazebo floor.

"Then, why not practice?" she asked with a smile, offering her hand to Dimitri.

"P...pardon?" Dimitri said, staring at her hand with wide eyes.

"If you practice a lot, you'll feel less nervous when the time comes," Hilda reasoned. "Besides, I just really want to dance!"

"Do you... like dancing?" Dimitri asked as he took her hand. Hilda seemed to sparkle in happiness as she lifted him up.

"Yeah! I _love_ to dance!" Hilda declared. "I was soooo disappointed when Claude was chosen as our representative!"

"Are you sure you want to help me practice?" Dimitri asked. "After all, I'm competing against Claude..."

"It's fine! I mean, it's a competition between friends, so there's no hard feelings no matter who wins or loses!" 

Dimitri managed a smile at that, something that made Hilda's gaze become fond.

"Well, if you don't mind... may I have this dance?" Dimitri asked, offering his hand to Hilda.

"Absolutely!"

Hilda laughed as she took Dimitri's hand. Her left arm wrapped around his side, her other hand resting on the middle of his back. Dimitri's other arm went around her waist, holding her close.

(Probably much closer than either of them really strictly _needed _to be for a dance between friends.)

"Ha, we don't actually have music, now that I think about it," Hilda noted. "Want me to count out the steps?"

"That would be helpful, yes," Dimitri answered, focusing a lot on not stepping on her toes.

"Jeez, Dimitri, you're too stiff!" Hilda exclaimed. "You gotta relax, I'm not gonna get mad at you for messing up or something!"

She started to count, repeating whenever they finished the cycle. 

"You're really good at this, Dimitri," Hilda said. "I'm not even sure you need the practice!"

"It's all thanks to your guidance," Dimitri replied humbly.

"No way, I'm barely doing anything!" Hilda shot back.

Now, this would have probably resulted in an endless loop of trying to deflect the praise to the other, if not for a sudden misstep. 

Hilda stumbled forward, right into Dimitri's chest. He caught her with both arms, trying to steady her.

"Are you alright?" Dimitri asked.

Hilda paused, resting her head on Dimitri's chest. She wasn't sure whether the heartbeat pulsing in her ears was hers or his.

"Yeah," she answered quietly. Her voice came out a bit muffled from his all-encompassing embrace...

Seriously... he was so much taller than her. And so muscular, too. She kind of wanted to stay in his warm arms for a bit longer...

But then Hilda let out a deep breath, stepped a bit back, and smiled.

"Sorry, sorry, that was totally my fault!" she said, her voice as excited as usual. "Wanna keep practicing, or is that enough for today?"

Hilda put the ball in Dimitri's court, completely willing to accept whatever choice he made.

And Dimitri, well. His head was telling him that he should say no, his rapid heartbeat would give him away any second. He couldn't be selfish, not when Hilda deserved a future full of happiness that he was not a part of. He couldn't get so close that he wouldn't be able to say goodbye.

But, staring at her kind smile, what came out of his mouth was an almost-timid, "if you're uninjured, then I suppose one more dance won't hurt..."

Hilda's face brightened, and suddenly, Dimitri couldn't bear the thought of making that smile disappear from her face. 


	35. Chapter 35

Dimitri really, really wanted to go and tell Hilda that he really couldn't keep dancing with her. But because he was selfish, because he didn't want to let go of her, because he didn't want to see her smile disappear, he said yes again. And again, and again, until it became a sort of habit.

"You're gonna wow everyone with steps these good!" Hilda promised, grinning as they practiced once again.

"Will you be watching the competition?" Dimitri asked, trying not to feel nervous at the thought. 

"Yeah, of course! There's no way I could miss it!" Hilda declared. "I definitely want to see you sweep away the competition!"

"I appreciate the enthusiasm, but I fear you would be disappointed," Dimitri said. "Edelgard is probably still the better dancer..."

"Still?" Hilda asked.

"Edelgard taught me how to dance when we were children," Dimitri told her. 

Before he could mention how strict his teacher was and how awkward the experience was, Hilda gasped.

"Huh?! Isn't this some sort of crazy romance play plot?!"

"Er... pardon?" Dimitri asked, too baffled to process that right.

"I mean, meeting your first love, the girl who taught you how to dance, at school again, only for her to fall in love with someone else...! Gosh! You oughta step up your game and--"

"Hilda, Edelgard is my step-sister!" Dimitri interjected, too flustered to be more polite with it.

"She is?!" Hilda asked in shock.

"Yes... her mother was my stepmother..." Dimitri said. "We only knew each other for a short amount of time, but it was rather fun."

"Why are you talking like it's all in the past? She's right here, right now, right?" 

"No, we've both changed since that time. It's--"

Dimitri paused, because suddenly Hilda was pouting.

"Come on!" Hilda exclaimed, breaking away from their dance. She pulled on his hand, dragging him out of the gazebo area.

"Hilda?! What are you--?! Where are we going?!" Dimitri demanded.

"To Edelgard!"

Dimitri absolutely couldn't protest with Hilda in this kind of determined mood. He was actually relieved when Hilda was told that Claude and Edelgard had left for a trip to town.

Hilda pouted as she sat with Dimitri in the reception hall. 

"Gosh... what terrible luck..." she said. 

"Well, it wouldn't do to just interrupt their date," Dimitri replied, trying to placate Hilda. 

"Argh--! These stupid lovebirds! Going on a date when it's so important! I'm happy for them, but _arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhh_..."

She smushed her face into the table as she groaned.

"Really Hilda... why did you suddenly want to bring me to Edelgard in the first place?" Dimitri asked.

Hilda turned her head to face Dimitri, her cheek still pressed against the table.

"You seemed like you already gave up, you know?" she answered. "Even though there was a chance, you seemed like you just... completely gave up on it. But it's not too late to talk to each other again, not at all."

She sighed, a pensive expression on her face.

"I guess I didn't want you to give up," Hilda said, almost laughing at the irony.

Dimitri felt a little bit desperate to get her to smile again, so...

"We could always try again when they're here. In the meantime, would you like to spend some time in the greenhouse?" Dimitri asked. "We can look over the flowers together."

"Yeah... that'd be nice..."

Hilda's dejected tone quickly fell away when they got there. After a while of admiring the flowers, Professor Byleth showed up and gave them a bunch of different flowers. Hilda immediately decided to bring Dimitri outside and show him how to make a flower crown. 

Hilda was probably the only person who could drag Dimitri around by the hand, sit with him on the grass, and make flower crowns with him.

"Hey, Dimitri, can you lean down a bit?" Hilda asked.

"Hm? Why?" Dimitri asked, despite already doing it. Hilda couldn't resist patting him on the head, before placing her crown on top of his hair.

"That's why," Hilda said simply. 

Dimitri accidentally crushed his attempt at a flower crown again.

Hilda smiled and said there were more than enough flowers for him to try one more time.

Later, after they separated, Dimitri sort of drifted towards the library. He did not notice anyone giving him weird stares as he walked, too caught up in his own thoughts.

He went to look at a book on flower language, only for his hand to meet with another person's on the book's spine.

"Ah," Edelgard said.

Dimitri's gaze immediately went to the bouquet of orange roses in her other arm, while her stare went to the crown of violets and lavender on his head.

Normally, Dimitri would have immediately offered to let her have it out of chivalry.

But instead, he asked, "would you like to read over the book together?"

"I don't mind," was Edelgard's answer.

They sat together at a table, side-by-side. Edelgard flipped through the pages in silence, Dimitri looking over her shoulder at the illustrations.

It was... awkward.

Really awkward.

"Did... Claude get you that bouquet?" Dimitri asked, trying to break the ice.

Edelgard's body tensed at the question.

"Yes, he did," Edelgard answered after a bit.

"Then, your outing (date) went well?"

"Our (business) meeting was... satisfactory," Edelgard settled on the word with a distinctly unsatisfied expression. She didn't get to talk to Claude much about, well, everything, but... 

Dammit, she needed to change the subject. Before she let sensitive info slip.

"I didn't take you for the flower type," Edelgard said. "Is it another gift from Hilda?"

Dimitri blushed, answering, "yes, it is."

"It seems that the two of you are rather close. Should I expect news of a happy union soon?" Edelgard asked, grinning from the sudden chance.

"No, nothing of the sort. In fact, is that not a question I should be asking you?" Dimitri shot back. "I've heard whispers that you and Claude have been exchanging flowers for a while now."

(He heard that from Hilda.)

"Th-that's none of your business."

Dimitri let out a laugh.

"Forgive me, El. I simply meant to jest a bit."

Edelgard stared at Dimitri in shock.

"...El?" she echoed.

"I'm sorry. That old nickname simply slipped off my tongue."

"No... it's fine," Edelgard answered. "It's simply been a long time since I heard it."

There was a moment of silence as Edelgard continued flipping through the book's pages. Her hand landed on lavender, and she immediately read it to him.

"Devotion and virtue," and from memory of her previous bouquet, she added that, "while violets mean loyalty, faithfulness, and devotion."

She smirked at Dimitri in victory, before Dimitri insisted she go to the page on roses.

When she read that orange roses meant desire and enthusiasm...

Well, they were both left blushing in the end.

Which confused Edelgard, because wasn't this just a confirmation that they were business partners? Why did the thought of Claude desiring her make her heart beat faster?

Edelgard's eyes widened as she realized, oh no. She wanted to rule by Claude's side, but... but in the romantic, battle, and business partners sort of way.

"Excuse me," Edelgard said, leaving the book to Dimitri. 

* * *

Professor Byleth looked at the confession box with an exasperated expression. The sister was busy drawing up a sign telling people to only take _one_ paper for their confessions.

_'Please lend me your aide.'_

Byleth skipped the next four and a half pages, eyes landing on the last sentence.

_'I fear that I've grown unfortunate feelings for a colleague. How might I hide these feelings from him until they ebb away?'_

They then looked at the other letter in the confession box, which was an actual reasonable length.

_'Hey, Teach, I think I might have messed up. I've got a thing going with a girl, and we're obviously into each other, but not quite dating yet. I gave her a bouquet after one of our dates, and she's been avoiding me ever since! Was it too much?!'_

...

Professor Byleth's answer was to sigh and start massaging their temples with one hand. 

Sothis was already screaming. There were two fucking weeks until the ball and the White Heron Cup, and they could not fucking deal with this.


	36. Holy shit, Dimitri

"What makes you think that this will work at all?" Felix asked bluntly, standing in front of the desk Ingrid was sitting at. She had a piece of paper and a quill at the ready, while Ashe sat next to her.

Around their side of the table, the rest of the Blue Lions, minus Dimitri, were gathered. 

"Absolutely nothing, but that won't stop us from trying," Ingrid replied.

Felix didn't know why he didn't expect that answer. There was so much wrong with this plan. There were so many things that could go wrong with writing a love letter in Dimitri's name and delivering it to Hilda. 

"You think we should add something about giving her a dagger?" Sylvain asked.

"Oh, oh, maybe something from that confession letter!" Annette offered. "I remember it being _soo_ romantic! But, um, what did it say again...?"

"Don't worry, Annie, I'm sure you'll remember it," Mercedes said.

Dedue was silent in the corner, because, well. Scheming was apparently how everyone hung out now, except he wasn't supposed to encourage Dimitri's feelings. 

His compromise was sitting in the corner.

No one decided to question why Mercedes was hugging his arm. Sylvain wanted to, but honestly, after seeing how dumb everyone else was with love, he was just happy someone could actually do romance right.

Meanwhile, Felix was busy questioning their plan. Their plan was stupid in his eyes.

There was literally so much that could go wrong with faking a love letter to Hilda. 

"Actually, I have the confession letter right here," Ashe said. 

"You stole it?!" Annette gasped in shock.

"Both of them," Ashe answered.

(Sothis was fucking screaming even louder, because she had worked so hard on the most scathing, furious retort possible to Edelgard's confession letter, but the letter was just _gone._ Byleth just sighed.)

Mercedes took both letters, handing one to Dedue. That one turned out to be Edelgard's.

"_'When he smiles, my heart is sent into a frenzy. Is it wrong that I yearn for him to call my name?'_" Dedue read, because technically, just reading a letter out loud was not sabotaging Dimitri's attempts to suppress his feelings. 

"_'Their __eyes are like stars, sparkling in the darkness,'_" Mercedes added, before grimacing. "Hm...... _hmm_....."

"What?" Sylvain asked. "Is it something embarrassing?

Mercedes didn't know how to explain it, so she just handed Dimitri's letter over to Sylvain.

"_'A valkyrie in battle would pale before their might. Every time I witness it, I am transfixed by...'" _Sylvain trailed off, his eyebrows raising with each word. "Holy shit, Dimitri. Does... holy shit, it goes on for two pages!"

"...only two pages?" Felix asked. "I would have thought that the boar would write the entire thing about her battle prowess."

"So we would focus a lot on Hilda's ability to fight in the letter!" Ashe exclaimed excitedly.

"Oh, oh, and how nice she is to hug!" Annette added.

"What?" Felix asked.

"It just seems like the sort of thing you add to a love letter!"

"I've known His Highness for so many years, and I legitimately do not think he would still be alive after hugging a girl he had a crush on," Sylvain said bluntly.

"Wow, I... I would have expected this from Felix, but..." Ashe trailed off.

"Look, I'm a master of flirting—"

"—debatable," Felix interjected.

"—but His Highness? Needs a literal class on how to date someone. I will sit down with him and teach him how to flirt if I have to."

"Please don't," Ingrid asked.

"Maybe that could be part of the letter?" Mercedes suggested. "Like, _'I will grow to overcome my weaknesses for you!'_ or something!"

"Great!" Ashe said. "And, and, that quote from _The Sacred Twins_!" 

"I know exactly the one you're talking about!" Ingrid exclaimed, her quill working furiously.

"Do you even know how to copy the boar's handwriting?" Felix asked bluntly.

"Absolutely not," Ingrid answered instantly. 

Ashe and Ingrid decided to just kinda shrug off the idea of failure, because fuck that, they were being helpful so this had to work. 

So, Ashe decided to collect more info while Ingrid jotted it down. The others in the room slowly began to gravitate towards the letter, until everyone but Felix was all looking over Ingrid's shoulder as she wrote.

"'_Sweeter than a cupcake, can't we go on a date?'_" Annette offered, the words coming out in the form of a song.

"_'When I'm with you, every day is fun!'" _Mercedes added.

Dedue did not add anything. He simply observed that Dimitri would probably be more formal in wording than that. 

"_'Baby, I know you're the only one for me,'" _Sylvain said.

"No," Ingrid replied.

Ashe looked to Felix.

"No!" Felix exclaimed instantly. "I am not playing along with this _nonsense—"_

Ashe's smile dropped off his face. He gave off the incredible aura of a sad puppy...

And Felix... just... kind of could not handle that, just like he couldn't handle Ashe complimenting him or generally being cute.

"..............just say something about... not being able to tear your eyes away. Or whatever."

"Thanks, Felix!"

"Alright, I've got the mushy romance stuff down," Ingrid said. "Ashe? We need every knight book we've ever read."

"...why," Sylvain asked flatly.

"Look me in the eye and tell me that His Highness would not write at least two paragraphs dedicated to skill in battle in a love letter."

...

"Okay, sure," Sylvain said. "I guess. This... this is fine."

"Remember! Her smile banishes the darkness!" Annette exclaimed.

That was how a ridiculous and strange love letter signed with Dimitri's name wound up stuck in Hilda's door.

Hilda looked up from the letter, ascertaining that Dimitri was still right next to her. He was politely turned away from her so he wouldn't accidentally catch sight of any of the private letter.

He had been with her the entire day, helping her with an assignment she forgot to do in the face of the White Heron Cup and the ball.

Her gaze went back to the letter, and she almost burst out laughing.

_'This handwriting isn't anything like Dimitri's at all,' _she noted. _'You're joking, right? There's no way Dimitri could have a crush on me. Don't mess around and get my hopes up.'_

"It's just another love letter," Hilda said, folding it up and tucking it in her pocket.

"...another one?" Dimitri asked, turning back to her.

"Yeah, I get them all the time," Hilda answered.

Dimitri's expression became an awkward, almost-pained smile.

"I see... are you not going to reply?" 

Hilda felt her brows furrow together, her mouth falling open in confusion.

"Um, no, I'm really not. Not now," Hilda said. 

And she could hardly miss his relieved sigh at her words, though he quickly tried to adopt a polite smile.

"I can hardly fault you for wanting to dispose of unwanted admirers. Though, I admire the bravery needed to send such a letter even in the face of certain rejection..."

Hey. Hey wait. Wait a fucking second.

"I appreciate the bravery too, but, I've got to focus on the important stuff!" Hilda exclaimed quickly. "I mean, you still need to practice for the White Heron Cup! That's way more important than some unknown (prank) love letter!"

"I... I'm honoured to be such a high priority, then," Dimitri said, looking away with a pink tint to his face.

Wait. Wait no what.

"Ha, of course!" Hilda exclaimed with a bright smile, even though she was internally screaming and not quite filtering her words right.. "I like you a lot, so naturally I'm gonna want to help you out!"

_'What the fuck am I fucking saying oh goddess help me—'_

"H-hold on! Saying something like that s-so openly... that will cause a misunderstanding!" Dimitri exclaimed, his face turning even redder.

_'Holy shit, Dimitri?!' _Hilda thought.

No, no, no, no, she couldn't just _assume_... she was just, you know, employing wishful thinking! That had to be it! Dimitri was just the sort of guy who blushed easily! It meant nothing! That...

"Yeah, sorry, I'll, er, just put away my books and we can practice. Sorry! Thanks again for helping me!" Hilda exclaimed, retreating into her room.

Her heart was fucking racing as she left her books on her desk, pulling out a drawer. She grabbed a hairbrush and a mirror, sticking a hair pin between her teeth as she hurried her work along.

_'I might fall asleep in Professor Hanneman's classes, but I still know some things about science! You need more than one piece of proof to say that a conclusion is true! If I switch up my hairstyle and he doesn't react in a blushy way, he doesn't like me!'_

She pulled her hair into a bun at the top of her head, sticking the flower hairpin he got her in her bangs.

_'Come on, scientific method! Don't fail me now!'_

With a smile, Hilda left her room and closed the door behind her.

"Sorry for the wait!"

Dimitri's eyes widened.

"I don't mind at all," he said hurriedly. "But, your hair..."

"Oh, yeah," Hilda said in a nonchalant way. "I realized that my long hair... it might get in the way when we're dancing! So I did a bun, and added your hairpin to finish things off! Cute, right?"

"You are," Dimitri answered, though he quickly added, "well, you're always beautiful, but..."

"Aw, thanks, Dimitri!" Hilda thought, as she was internally screaming, _'holy shit, Dimitri!'_

She grabbed him by the hand, saying, "well, let's go, then! Times-a-wasting!" super casually, as if she wasn't panicking.

_'If... if he doesn't react to the trap I'll lay while we're dancing, he doesn't have feelings for me.'_

Hilda kept smiling and chattering as she guided him to the gazebo.

"Hey, the normal steps are good enough, but it gets boring when you've already mastered them, right? My favourite part of dancing is the fun tricks you can pull!"

"The tricks?" Dimitri repeated.

"You know, like lifting your partner into the air, dipping them low, spinning them around...!" Hilda said as they reached their usual dancing spot. They were still holding hands, she noticed. "Stuff like that is so much fun!"

"Would you like to try it, then?" Dimitri offered. 

Even though it was her idea in the first place, Hilda felt herself getting a bit flustered.

"Well, um, you don't have to. I just thought, _'hey, adding some variety might excite the judges!', _so... it's only if you want to!"

"I'm already in your debt, since you're helping me practice. The least I could do is make it more enjoyable for you," Dimitri replied.

Hilda couldn't really say no to that, so they started dancing.

At first, it was the same as usual, save for Hilda's nervousness. Then, Hilda asked if he could twirl her around.

Hours of practice meant that Dimitri did as she asked with ease. Eventually, she stopped having to ask him out loud. A squeeze of his hand meant to twirl her around, a squeeze of his shoulder meant that he had to carry her.

Dimitri lifted her into the air as she laughed.

It was exhilarating, being so in-sync, but Hilda knew it was time for the dance to end.

With a tug on his shirt, Hilda asked. With a single movement, Dimitri answered.

He dipped her low, and their feet stopped.

Their breathing was quick, their bodies sweaty, their faces flushed from the exertion, surely.

But Hilda didn't know whether the rapid heartbeat she felt was hers or Dimitri's. Their bodies were too close for her to tell. 

There was a moment of absolutely stillness, quietness, like neither of them really wanted the moment to end. 

Hilda could only close her eyes and focus on the feeling of his arm around her body, his chest against hers, her breathing, because the alternative?

Was looking up at him and having their eyes meet.

Dimitri was staring, and she knew it. She must have looked like a mess, with her hairpin slipping off, with her hair starting to fall out of her bun, with such an embarrassed expression...!

She cracked an eye open.

Dimitri seemed to be completely entranced... and, uh, um...!

_'Holy shit, Dimitri, your face is a lot closer than I thought it was!' _Hilda thought in a panic.

It would be so easy for their lips to meet, when there was so little space between them. Normally, there was so much distance between their...

Hilda gulped, before giving Dimitri a smile.

"You're really good," she said.

Dimitri seemed to slowly come back to earth at the sound of her voice.

And before the last shreds of her courage ran away from her, she lifted her hand to his cheek.

She pressed a kiss to his other cheek, pulling away with a, "make sure you win, okay? If you do... I'll do you one better."

Dimitri short-circuited, letting Hilda escape his grip easily.

"Thanks for the dance!" Hilda exclaimed, before running away, leaving Dimitri behind.

* * *

_'Help help help I fucked up and kissed my crush on the cheek and promised him I would do better if he won but I don't even know what that MEANS and fuck what do I DO.'_

That, Professor Byleth actually knew the answer to.

_'A kiss on the lips.'_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> <https://rainbow-unicorn-banzai-party.tumblr.com/post/188789507875/i-accept-no-responsibility-for-this>


	37. Chapter 37

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i just realized that dimitris gloves are actually ARMOUR and the dude is CONSTANTLY WALKING AROUND WITH GAUNTLETS AND WHATEVER YOU CALL THOSE LEG ARMOUR THINGS. DUDE.  
_**WHY?!**_ ITS HARD ENOUGH TO GET YOU IN HANDHOLDING SCENES AND NOW YOURE TELLING ME THAT YOU JUST CONSTANTLY HAVE **METAL _ON YOUR HANDS?!_** THAT YOU WERE NOT JUST WEARING GLOVES BUT **_FUCKING ARMOUR?!_** DID HILDA HAVE TO PATIENTLY WAIT FOR YOU TO TAKE OFF **AN ENTIRE GAUNTLET** BEFORE YOU FELT HER FOREHEAD?! WHY DO YOU WEAR FUCKING GAUNTLETS TO CLASS DOESNT THAT HURT YOUR PEN GRIP?! **DIMITRI?????????????????????????????????????**  
oh btw i finally figured out an actual good title for this fic. only took me a month.

Claude yawned as he walked. It was the perfect time for an afternoon nap. He figured no one would be in the gazebo, so he planned to have his nap around that area. 

Except he found Dimitri there, and he was kinda thinking that maybe Dimitri was dead. 

Dimitri was sitting on the floor of the gazebo, propped up against the one of the gazebo's pillars, with his left hand resting on his cheek.

"Yoohoo, Prince Dimitri? You there? At all?" Claude asked, crouching down before Dimitri and waving a hand in front of the blond's face. "Did you get punched in the face or something?"

"C-Claude!" Dimitri flinched at the sudden voice, scrambling to sit up straight. 

"Yep, that's me! Glad to see that your brain trauma hasn't erased all of our fun memories together!"

"You've misunderstood! I was not punched in the face!"

"Oh? Interesting!" Claude exclaimed. "What could have you looking so down then?"

"It was... nothing of great importance," Dimitri said.

"Come now, Your Highness, there's no secrets here! I'm lending you my shoulder to cry on, if you need it!"

Dimitri narrowed his eyes at Claude. After a few seconds, Claude's smile became a bit awkward.

"No, really, I know I don't seem the type," Claude said, dropping his joking tone, "but there's no strings attached. I just want to hear you out, you know?"

Dimitri sighed. 

"I apologize. It seems that I've been too on edge, lately."

"Hey, wouldn't blame you. If I had to go up against me in a dancing competition, I'd be nervous too," Claude said, moving to sit cross-legged in front of Dimitri.

"Is that so? From what I've heard, I would think it'd be the opposite," Dimitri stated.

"Whaaaat, who told you that?! Was it Lorenz? Hilda?"

At the sound of Hilda's name, Dimitri unconsciously blushed.

From Dimitri's reaction to her name... something must have happened, huh? Something very good.

Claude had a very sudden idea of why Dimitri was sitting on the floor of a gazebo, holding his face. 

"You two were even closer than I thought, huh?"

"Wh-what could you possibly mean—?!"

"Why, from your tone, I would think you were positively smitten! When can I expect the happy union?"

"I-I, er, u-uh, _ah_——"

"I cannot wait to hear about how you marry Lore-ahaha_hahaha—" _Claude couldn't even finish the name before bursting into laughter.

"Claude!"

"Sorry, sorry, couldn't resist!" Claude exclaimed. 

Dimitri tried to glare at Claude, but he was so embarrassed that he just looked like a mildly annoyed golden retriever.

"But, seriously, did something happen between you two?" Claude asked, trying to smile like a normal concerned friend and not like a mastermind whose plans were coming to fruition.

Dimitri hesitated, before saying,

"...she... um, kissed me. On the cheek."

"Nice! You gonna ask her out soon?"

"What? No, I couldn't possibly...!" 

Dimitri couldn't, not when he had to get revenge, not when she would be disgusted by him, not when...

"She deserves better than a man like me," Dimitri said, and Claude sighed.

"Lots of people don't get what they deserve, lots of people don't deserve what they get," Claude retorted, "but people? They're more complicated than that."

Dimitri was silent.

"There are those who make their choices based off who's well-off, who's got connections, yeah, but don't you think that this is different?"

Claude stood up, stretching his arms above his head. He stared down at Dimitri, and with a sudden, impassive voice—

"I'm not telling you to say yes if you hate it. But, if you really don't want to return her feelings at all, at least tell her why instead of this _'you deserve better than me' _bullshit. Otherwise, I might actually punch you."

Turning back with the same smile as always, Claude sounded jovial once again as he said, "well, that's all! See you around!"

Dimitri let out a sigh.

"That's right... at the very least, I should tell her the truth."

But somehow, he just wanted to wait a little bit longer, even though he knew that would just be selfishly hurting the two of them...

* * *

Dimitri hadn't really intended to win the White Heron Cup. 

Really. It was an accident. He didn't actually think he would win, even with his practice with Hilda.

It's just that, well. Claude immediately started doing some insane dance that involved jumping on a table and asking Edelgard to dance with him. 

Apparently, he had said something like, "you've been avoiding me lately, so this was bound to get your eyes on me again!" while posing dramatically.

Edelgard couldn't resist bursting into laughter and started dancing with Claude. Unfortunately, they had already both gotten disqualified by this time.

Dimitri just didn't learn this until afterwards, however, because he had closed his eyes and focused so hard on dancing that he didn't even notice the chaos happening behind his back.

He didn't even know if that really qualified as a win? He outright asked the judges if there was a mistake?

But Edelgard congratulated him like he had won anyways? Claude even threw his arm around Dimitri's shoulders, laughing like that conversation in the gazebo never happened.

Professor Manuela handed him his prize. 

It was a bundle of clothes.

Oh no.

"Congratulations. You're qualified to become a Dancer."

_Oh no._

Professor Manuela winked, before saying, "use your skills well!"

There was applause from the others in the hall, cheers from his childhood friends, and...

...

...footsteps coming towards them.

"Here you go!" Hilda exclaimed, thrusting a bouquet of flowers into Dimitri's arms. "Dedue prepared this because he knew you would win! And, um, here's a gift from, uh, your childhood friends," she gave Dimitri a sword, a book on knights, and a dagger, "and Mercedes, Annette, and Ashe!" she put a box of chocolates into his arms too, putting it in a precarious position just on top of the book.

"T...thank you!" Dimitri said hurriedly, ignoring Claude's snicker by his shoulder.

"You didn't get Dimitri anything?" Edelgard asked. 

"Well... I asked to give the gifts, but... right now, it's just a surprise!" Hilda declared, before pointing at Dimitri. "L-look forward to it! It'll be ready soon! You have to look forward to it, okay?!"

"U-um, yes, I will!" Dimitri answered.

With that, Hilda left, leaving Dimitri behind with flowers and a set of clothes in his arms, a sword in one hand and a dagger in the other, and a book and a box of chocolates resting on top of his awkward pile. Claude started laughing as Dedue came to help Dimitri carry it all.

Throughout it all, despite his earlier wishes to end whatever they had quickly, Dimitri couldn't help but be curious as to what Hilda hd in mind.

_'Maybe... a few days more wouldn't hurt?'_

* * *

"Help, I have no idea what I'm doing and you're one of the only people here who seems to have any idea how romance works," Hilda asked, charging into the Black Eagles classroom. There weren't that many people there. Only four students were left.

"...me?" Edelgard asked. "How did you get that idea?" 

Dorothea immediately started laughing, before a careless remark from Caspar reminded the singer that she wasn't much better.

"Look, please, I don't have time for self-depreciation! I just need advice, please! I will make you an entire necklace if I have to!"

"No, that's not necessary! Please, calm down, I have no idea what you need from me!" Edelgard exclaimed, because Hilda seemed about to burst into tears and she was not comfortable with that.

"Remember! No lethality!" Petra interjected as she packed up her things. "If it is necessary, I will give her a headcut!"

"Um... please don't. That would kill me," Hilda retorted.

"Haircut," Dorothea corrected.

"Also, muscles make everyone fall!" Caspar added. "Dorothea is proof!"

"Stop that!"

Edelgard paused to think...

"This is about... Dimitri? Didn't you have some sort of surprise for him?"

Hilda blushed, making Dorothea go, "aha! You need help getting it ready, right?"

The others gathered around Hilda. 

"Alright! I have no problem helping you out in exchange for a sparring match—!"

"I don't have a surprise. I just blurted it out!" Hilda exclaimed, cutting Caspar off.

"...pardon? Am I having understanding? Did you claim a lie?"

"Okay, so Professor Byleth said to kiss him on the lips but there's no way I could do that and it's been a few days and I think I disappointed him and I don't _want_ to disappoint him," Hilda said in a panic, "so please help."

"Have you tried giving him flowers?" Edelgard asked.

"Um... not really."

"There you go, then," Edelgard said.

"No, no, isn't it his birthday tomorrow? At least add food or something!" Caspar exclaimed.

...eh?

"It's... his birthday tomorrow?" Hilda asked.

"Yeah, heard it from Sylvain," Caspar said.

"I did not have knowledge you were friends," Petra noted.

"We spar sometimes and talk after, but that's not that important!"

"Ah, isn't that perfect!?" Dorothea said. "You could dress up, give him some flowers, and hand him a homemade cake and it'll seem like you prepared it all for his birthday!"

"Wow, thanks, guys!"

Edelgard had a very satisfied grin on as Petra offered to slice Hilda's hair for the event, though...

_'...ah, happy moments like these just make everything harder...'_

* * *

"Dimitri! Sorry for the wait!" 

Dimitri turned away from the training dummy, before dropping his lance.

Hilda had her hair tied up in a ponytail with a deep blue ribbon thanks to Petra. 

She had a container of sweets she made with Edelgard and Dorothea, plus, um. The confidence of Caspar yelling at her to believe in herself.

"Happy birthday!" Hilda exclaimed. "I hope you like the snacks!"

"I appreciate it," Dimitri said hurriedly.

And, despite the smile on his face, Hilda could quickly feel herself growing shy.

It wasn't like she was playfully flirting with some other students, trying to get them to do her favours... she really, honestly was nervous about messing it up!

She had made an entire plan on how she'd drag him around town and get him flowers, but... 

"Well, that's all! Bye!"

And she turned to leave—

"Wait!"

Dimitri caught her wrist, making Hilda freeze in place.

"Um, you need something?" Hilda asked, trying to sound casual.

"I can't just continue accepting your kindness!" Dimitri declared. "Please, allow me to do something to make you happy in return!"

"Ah, no, that's really not necessary—!"

"Please, Hilda," Dimitri asked. 

_'I'm desperate to hang onto you a bit longer...' _Dimitri realized. 

"I'm sorry for my selfishness," Dimitri said, "but I sincerely desire to... (stay with you)"

"Then..." Hilda said slowly, unwilling to turn back and let her blushing face be seen, "save a dance for me at the ball, please?"

"Of course," Dimitri promised, before letting her go.

_'I'll dance with you one last time, before I tell you why I can't accept either of our feelings.'_

* * *

Flayn was very very sad recently. So naturally, Manuela, as a wise and wonderful woman, had to check up on her! As a sisterly influence!

"This event is for students only," Flayn said sadly, "and my request to join the Black Eagles was rejected... as a result, I cannot participate..."

Flayn looked so sad and disappointed as she added, "oh, how I longed to dance under those glowing lights, wearing a beautiful dress... no matter. I cannot bother others with my childish desires—"

Manuela shushed Flayn gently. 

Manuela then singlehandedly argued for Flayn's case to everyone so well that not only was Flayn allowed to go, but the rule that students were to participate in their uniforms? Abolished.

There were only a few days to prepare fine clothing for the ball, but Manuela refused to stop there. She helped all the students who couldn't afford such clothing acquire some. She even managed to convince Seteth to maybe chill a little in regards to Flayn and dancing and other people. Which sort of involved buttering him up and making him her drinking buddy.

This was in no way a decision that could end badly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> theres something incredibly amusing about the idea that the amiibo gazebo is an actual gazebo but it just glows and sometimes spits out rare items


	38. lol

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i just want yall to know that apparently ive had a wattpad account for three years, never knew about it at all, called imjusthere4thefics. i dont... remember making it? at all?  
maybe the demon i've been feeding with daily rituals did this. oh well.

The ball went about as well as you'd expect. 

"I don't want to be here..." Bernadetta whimpered... Petra was trying to encourage her, when Raphael came in.

"Don't worry about it! No matter what you do, no one will mind!" Raphael exclaimed, before striding onto the dance floor and starting to dance like a man possessed. He terrified people off of the dance floor with his moves, making Hubert fearful.

The tea buddies were dancing, Ingrid and Marianne were chatting over tea, Claude and Edelgard had snuck off, Dorothea was trying to teach Leonie to dance, Sylvain was trying to get Felix to ask Ashe to dance and getting insulted for his troubles, Annette, Cyril, and Lysithea were heading for the sweets, Mercedes and Dedue were chatting, Linhardt and Ignatz had went to the library because they both did not like the crowd and noise, Caspar had joined Raphael, and...

"He's outside?" Hilda asked.

Professor Byleth nodded, telling Hilda how they had taken a break from the crowd and run into Dimitri outside. Seemed he was uncomfortable. 

Hilda let out a bitter, hollow chuckle as she remembered just how many people had attempted to dance with Dimitri... of course he didn't want to deal with that.

_'But he promised me a dance...' _Hilda thought, before getting an idea. _'What if I just go to him instead of waiting in here all night?'_

Smiling, she thanked the professor and went to leave to look for Dimitri.

* * *

_'One last dance... I swore it, but I'm putting it off until the last moment,' _Dimitri thought, sighing up at the sight of the Goddess Tower dyed in the colours of early evening. From the courtyard by the reception hall, he could hardly make out the details on it...

It was wrong to get his hopes up.

Dimitri couldn’t think of possibly... actually being with her. He didn’t have a right to think of pursuing his childish feelings when he might not have a future to promise to her. He didn’t have the right to stain such a pure heart with his scarred soul…

So why… why was he even waiting for her? Being so happy... it scared him. Maybe if he never went back inside, they wouldn't have to address it.

As he was lost in his thoughts, Dimitri caught sight of pink hair.

Moving without thinking, he made his way over to her. 

Hilda's short-sleeved gown was the same colour as the night sky and cut with a sweetheart neckline. Her bangs were brushed aside with her flower hairpin. 

“Are you not making a vow with anyone?”

The question slipped out before he could stop it, making Hilda pause.

She looked him up and down, taking in his outfit. Dimitri couldn't help but feel a bit nervous about her appraisal. 

He had worn a white swallow-tailed coat over a deep blue vest and black pants. Frills hung from his shirt collar, over his vest.

A few heart-pounding seconds passed, before Hilda smiled. At the sight of that smile, Dimitri felt his heart start pounding.

“And here I was, thinking you had someone else to go with!”

“You… what?” Dimitri asked.

“To be honest…” Hilda started off, grinning conspiratorially up at him, “I saw you around here, and you looked like you were waiting for someone… so I thought I’d wait around a bit, see if you had a date. But then, you walked towards me, so…! Here we are, I guess!”

The way she talked about it made it seem like it was simply by chance that they encountered each other.

“Then, why were you here, if I might ask?”

"I was looking for you. You did promise me a dance, after all," Hilda said.

Dimitri felt a twinge of guilt.

"You can't possibly mean... here?"

"Well, it's better than you getting mobbed inside," Hilda replied. "Sorry, but I kinda want you to myself, you know?"

Dimitri bit at his lip, before removing his coat.

"Here. At least wear this."

Hilda laughed as he draped his coat over her shoulders.

"Gentlemanly as always, huh?"

"Please, it's only to be expected. I would hate it if you were to get sick again."

"Thanks, Dimitri," Hilda said, before offering her hand to him. "May I have this dance, good sir?"

He paused.

Then...

"Of course."

They danced under the moonlight, and Dimitri wondered how long they could make the moment last. 

"Hey, Dimitri, you know, some boys invited me to make a vow with them later,” Hilda said casually.

The words were like a punch to the gut to Dimitri, and he had actually experienced Hilda’s punches. 

“And you…” 

_ ‘Rejected them? Accepted them?’ _he wasn’t brave enough to voice that question out loud.

“Turned them down, duh!” Hilda said with a cute laugh. “I don’t want to make a promise with someone I’m not sure about, you know? Even if it’s just a legend, it might really come true, so you have to be careful.”

“So you really believe in the legend,” Dimitri noted.

“Do you not?” Hilda asked.

“Well, it’s a silly, harmless little thing, so it doesn’t hurt to try it,” Dimitri said. “But, I doubt that the goddess would fulfill any of our promises.”

“That’s so unromantic!” Hilda huffed. “What’s the point in making a promise to someone if your heart’s not in it!”

“Th-that isn’t what I mean!” Dimitri exclaimed hastily. “If I were to make a promise, if I were to swear to you that _ ‘we shall be together until the end of our days’ _, then the one who’ll make it come true is me! Not the goddess!”

Hilda’s eyes widened.

Her lips stretched out into a smile and he realized that he messed up.

“So, you might have a romantic bone in your body after all!” Hilda exclaimed excitedly. “That was like a marriage proposal! Dimitri, I’m proud of you!”

“I-i-it was only an example! Don’t look t-too much into it!” Dimitri ordered, face red.

Hilda laughed.

“Well, if you were serious about it, I wouldn’t mind,” Hilda stated. “I want a life partner that’s good-looking and good-hearted. I turned down all the other guys who asked me here since I didn’t know if they were both, but if it’s you…”

Hilda trailed off, suddenly averting her eyes.

"Do you want to make a vow with me?" Hilda asked.

Their feet came to a stop, though they kept holding each other.

The dance was over.

"...I'm sorry, Hilda."

Hilda paused, before stepping away with a sad smile. 

"Yeah, I thought you'd say that."

She was about to apologize and leave, when...

"Wait!"

"...yeah, Dimitri?" Hilda asked, turning around with a smile.

She mentally begging him not to say something so nice and sweet and _him_ like how he was sorry when she just wanted to cry over her rejection--

"I wish I could make a vow with you," Dimitri said. "I... sincerely desire to be able to make you happy, to repay you for all the happiness you've given me, but..."

He couldn't look Hilda in the eye, instead lowering his head.

"It wouldn't be fair to you, to make such an irresponsible promise when I might not even have a future to give you."

Hilda froze.

"Dimitri? What... what do you mean?" Hilda asked, and Dimitri hated the sudden sound of fear in her voice.

"There are things I must accomplish, even at the risk of my own life," Dimitri told her. At the sound of Claude's voice in his ears, he added, "I have a duty to those who died to bring them vengeance. Even if it might end in my death."

"No... no way..." Hilda muttered breathlessly.

He didn't have time to feel saddened by the thought of Hilda thinking him a monster, because just then, she stepped closer.

"Don't you care for your own life at all?! You have a responsibility to stay alive, don't you?!" Hilda demanded, her eyes tearing up.

Her mind flitted through reasons, her mouth scrambling to say them all in time.

"If you die, who would rule the Kingdom?! What about your friends?! What about all the people who died who would want you to keep living!?" Hilda screamed. "What about Dedue?! What about Ingrid and Sylvain and Felix, and the rest of your classmates, and Claude and Edelgard and--! And _me?!_ There are so many people who... who wouldn't want you to...!"

Dimitri tried to speak, but Hilda just kept going.

"I don't care what reasons you have, what stupid excuses you came up with to push people away! I don't care if you're trying to protect people, trying to protect _me_ from being hurt if you die! That's bullshit! If you don't want to hurt people, then _stay alive!"_

"Hilda..." Dimitri's expression was pained. 

A stray hiccup brought Hilda's tears spilling over and onto her cheeks. 

"Once you die, that's it," she told him. "There's no second chances, no way to undo it, nothing...!" She met his gaze with a terrible, _terrible _fear in her eyes. 

Dimitri's hand came up to wipe her tears. His voice immediately let out a quiet, "I'm sorry, Hilda."

Hilda's breathing was shaky as she begged him, "please stay alive. If it's not for your people, or your friends, or anyone else... at least live for your own sake! Even if you think it's selfish, it's not! If you need someone to talk to, I'll be here, so please..."

Her voice broke down as she sobbed.

Dimitri wanted to comfort her, but what right did he have to do any such thing when he made her cry in the first place?

Plagued by doubt, he could only say, "I couldn't possibly burden you like that. I've no right to burden anyone with—"

That was when Hilda grabbed him by the wrist and forced him to look her in the eye.

"I don't care! I _want_ you to trust me! I won't let you suffer alone!" Hilda declared. "Even if it's not me, you've got so many people who support you...! So, _please_...!"

Her grip on his wrist was trembling.

"I... your life is something worth protecting, Dimitri. Don't ever forget that."

Dimitri felt the moment grow silent, knew that Hilda was waiting for him to do something. He knew that he ought to have done _something_ to put her mind at ease, but...

Instead, he asked her, "how are you so kind to me?"

And her answer was...

"Because I want you to be okay. Even if you think it's a burden, I want to be there for you."

She smiled up at him, wiping her tears with the back of her hand.

"That's what friends are for, you know?"

At the sight of that same gentle smile, something in Dimitri broke down. Bitter, silent, tired tears left him. 

"I'm sorry, Hilda. I... I thought that you'd be disgusted, or hate me..."

Hilda pulled him into a hug, promising him that she'd never hate him.

Dimitri clung to her like she was a lifeline in a stormy sea. His breathing was unsteady. His grip was desperate, like the moment he loosened his grip, she might disappear too.

It seemed like hours until Dimitri calmed down. Hilda had her ear against his chest, hearing his heartbeat gradually start slowing down.

The first thing he said to her was, "...we should get inside. It's getting colder."

Hilda just nodded, taking his hand in hers as they started heading towards the dormitories.

The second thing he said was, "thank you, Hilda."

"It's fine, Dimitri," Hilda told him, before saying, "hey, I... don't feel like going to sleep (leaving you alone) just yet. Do you want to, I don't know. Grab some tea and relax in my room?"

Dimitri paused.

"I-I mean, not in that kind of way!" Hilda exclaimed quickly. "I just, you know. Want to relax with you. Is that okay?"

Dimitri smiled.

"If you don't mind... I would enjoy that."

On the strict condition that the door was to be unlocked, because he still had to be a proper gentleman, of course.

* * *

"I... don't even know where to begin," Dimitri admitted as Hilda poured them both some tea. They were sitting side-by-side on her bed. "This is... more than I ever expected."

"That's okay. Take as long as you need to figure out how to say it."

Dimitri started off slowly.

It started with the brief facts of the entire matter. It was an assassination on the king that killed several others.

Then, he got to his father's last words, and it was as if a dam was starting to break.

He started describing how the people screamed. The fire. The heat, the blood, the pleas for mercy. He started talking about the ghosts, the nightmares, their cries for revenge.

Saying it was easier than he expected. Maybe it was how Hilda kept holding his hand as he spoke, maybe it was the cozy atmosphere in her room, maybe it was the warm tea on his tongue... either way, his chest wound up feeling lighter.

Hilda didn't exactly know what to tell him. 

Eventually, she settled on leaning against his shoulder, her teacup in her hands, as she said, "hey, Dimitri. In the Golden Deer classroom, all of us... we promised to meet here again in five years."

Dimitri made a hum of acknowledgement, remembering how his classmates had said something similar.

"Will you be there?" Hilda asked.

"...I think I will," Dimitri answered.

"I'll look forward to seeing how different you'll look," Hilda said with a smile.

"And I'm sure that you'll only grow more and more lovely," Dimitri said, lifting his teacup to his lips.

Hilda stared at him in shock as Dimitri realized just what he had said.

He started choking on his tea, coughing loudly. Hilda panicked and tried to help him, when--

"Hilda! Are you okay?!" Claude yelled, throwing Hilda's unlocked door open.

Hilda turned her wide eyes from Dimitri to Claude and... Edelgard behind him....?

And the two of them... had really messy hair, and their clothes were in disarray...

...

"Oh goddess," Hilda said, as Dimitri recovered fully.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> me, the person writing this: DAMMIT DIMITRI JUST ACCEPT THAT YOU **_WILL_** BE HAPPY
> 
> by the way, was no one going to tell me that someone put this fic on the tvtropes fanfic recs page?! WHAT THE FUCK. WHO DID THIS. THANK YOU AND ALSO WHY.  
oh yeah. please check out chap 36 again, i drew an art of it and put the link there.


	39. Chapter 39

"Heh, I never would have thought I could find a worthy match here... I... yield..." Jeralt said, before leaning back in his chair and groaning.

"Captain Jeralt!" Alois and Leonie screamed in a panic.

Manuela giggled, winking with her champagne glass. 

"Is that all? I would have expected a man of your... _caliber_ to last longer. Oh well, if there's anyone else who'd like to challenge me, I'll accept whole-_hic!-_heartedly!"

Catherine stepped forward, only to be pulled back by Shamir.

Professor Byleth just fucking left, and Professor Hanneman was trying to see if their Crests had anything to do with their drinking ability, so there was no one to stop her but Seteth.

"Manuela, please!" Seteth screamed, almost begging her to stop. "This is not the proper conduct of faculty here!"

"I would like to challenge you next, Professor!" Flayn exclaimed.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO_OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"_

In that kind of (induced) chaos, no one noticed Edelgard and Claude slipping away into the night.

* * *

Two boys were standing outside the reception hall, the taller one having followed the shorter one after the latter stormed out in a huff.

"Look, Caspar," Sylvain said, wincing as the shorter boy glared, "I've never been looking down on you in any way but literally!"

Caspar's glare deepened.

"Shit, I'm really digging myself deeper, huh? Sorry. I was interested in trying to be your friend, since you don't seem to be the type to judge people by their Crests... I just suck at talking to people I'm not flirting with!"

"...huh?"

"I get it if you don't want anything to do with me anymore, but I really am sincere about this—"

And then Sylvain almost got hit by a dragon. 

It was only Caspar tackling him to the ground that kept him from being struck by the ascending wyvern.

"What the hell?!" Caspar demanded watching as the figure on the wyvern got higher and higher. In the dim light, he couldn't make out who it was... "Who's going around riding wyverns this late?!"

"Sorry!" a voice called out from above.

"...wasn't... that Claude's voice?" Sylvain asked.

* * *

"Ha, I didn't think you were the type for this sort of stunt, princess!" Claude exclaimed, exhilarated from the wind in his face and the feeling of Edelgard's arms around his body as they flew.

He was alright with Edelgard wearing pants to the ball, but his eyebrows did raise at the sight of her thick coat... now he knew that she meant for something like this all along.

"Keep your voice down!" Edelgard ordered. "I wanted us to fly to ensure no one could overhear what we speak of tonight."

"What a world we live in! Are all serious discussions held atop the backs of wyverns in the Empire?" Claude asked.

"Claude!"

"Kidding, kidding. But still, please ensure that all eyes, ears, and limbs remain firmly on the wyvern, or else we might be in for some _nasty _surprises next time we check a mirror."

Edelgard rolled her eyes, before deciding to just say it outright.

"And here I thought I had found someone I could share my dreams of a world without divisions with."

...mostly outright.

"Oh? Intriguing. Do tell me more, princess."

Edelgard let out a slow sigh before speaking. Claude felt her tighten her grip on him as he brought them higher into the starry sky.

She told him what she knew about the church. Edelgard couldn't help but slip a little contempt into her tone as she did so.

When she started to explain her relationship with the people who had attacked him...

"...I hate them," Edelgard confessed. "I will do everything in my power to destroy them the moment I no longer need them."

"But you still need them," Claude noted.

"I do. And I'll continue to need them, as long as I have no other allies."

There was a stretch of silence in their conversation, the only sounds they heard being the rushing wind and the flapping of wings.

"Is there really no other way but war?" Claude asked.

"You won't sway me away from my chosen path," Edelgard stated. "The reason I'm telling you this is so you can either join me or flee."

It was Claude's turn to sigh.

"You know, there's almost no way you'll be able to do this without facing the Kingdom," he said solemnly.

"...I know."

"And telling me this... I could inform any number of people and get you arrested for conspiracy, you know?"

"You won't."

"Huh?" Claude was taken aback by the sudden declaration.

Edelgard's voice was certain as she said, "you're the same as me. You want to tear down every system that divides people, every false ideal, every bit of propaganda, every drop of hatred... you can't possibly get rid of a potential ally like this."

Then she took a deep breath, and said, "but... if you really wish to stop me... I'd prefer an arrow to the heart over captivity in the church."

"Hey now, I wasn't serious!" Claude exclaimed hurriedly. 

Edelgard let out a breath that might've been called a laugh, in a less serious moment.

"I know."

Another pause.

"Edelgard... is there really no way I can convince you otherwise? No one else who could get you to think that, maybe, just maybe, this isn't the best way?"

Edelgard bit at her lip, before saying, "there isn't any other way. I know the truth, and I can't let Fódlan be deceived any longer." 

And then...

"Right, of course. Don't know why I even asked," Claude said, almost a bit resigned to his fate. "I'll join you, so..."

Edelgard's eyes widened at the sound of a question he had asked her before.

**...**

**...**...****

**...**...****...****

* * *

"I don't know about you, but I don't think most people go ride dragons on the day of the school ball. Otherwise, the skies would be a lot more crowded," Claude said as they prepared to descend. "Do you have any excuses, or should we just go along with my idea?"

"What's your idea?" Edelgard asked.

"Well, it's the kind of thing that people wouldn't question, but..." Claude paused. Edelgard could feel his heart starting to get a bit faster. "You'd have to kiss me. You okay with that?"

Edelgard was completely stunned as he directed his wyvern towards the stables. They managed to land safely.

"Ah, forget it, we'll just... figure out another way," Claude said as he hopped off his dragon, before moving to help Edelgard down. 

While she stepped down, Edelgard grabbed Claude by the collar.

Before he could react, the moment Edelgard's feet touched the ground, she yanked him down to meet her lips. The moment she pulled away, Claude went right back to meet her again.

Claude's wyvern went back to his stall on his own, since Claude was _clearly_ too pre-occupied to do it.

That was the entire explanation for why the two of them were so disheveled by the time they made it back to the dorms and Hilda's room. Wind, air pressure, and kissing. 

"You... what have you two done," Hilda asked, horrified.

Her assumptions were... not entirely on the mark, but they weren't exactly off the mark either.

"Princess over here wanted to go on a little joyride, and there was no way I could refuse her," Claude answered. 

"Claude," Edelgard said.

"Very, very private stuff. I'm afraid I can't share more, the memories are too dear to my heart," Claude continued on.

_"Claude," _Edelgard said again.

"Please just close the door," Hilda told them. 

"Alright, alright, we'll leave you to your own mishaps!" Claude exclaimed, shutting the door and dragging Edelgard away.

"Claude!" Dimitri screamed, just as the door closed.

Hilda groaned. 

"You two better not keep me up tonight!" Hilda screamed at the wall she shared with Edelgard. "If you do, I'm vandalizing your faces with paint!"

Her only answer was vague laughter. Hilda fumed at the wall, before Dimitri stood.

"I ought to leave as well," Dimitri stated. "I've already committed a grave breach of etiquette tonight..."

"It's fine!" Hilda exclaimed hurriedly. "You can always come to me, okay?"

Dimitri smiled at her.

"I will keep that in mind. If you'll allow it, I'll... attempt to be more open."

"Of course I allow it! I wouldn't offer it if I didn't want to!"

"Thank you, Hilda."

Dimitri offered his hand to Hilda, and without a second thought, she placed her hand on his.

"I cannot express my gratitude enough," Dimitri said, before raising her hand to his lips. 

The two of them were pink as Dimitri let go.

"Good night. I hope you rest well," Dimitri told her.

"Y-you too!" Hilda replied as he went for the door.

Dimitri gave her one last smile before shutting the door behind him.

Hilda held her hand to her chest, a huge grin coming on her face.

That kind of sweet gesture... it was fine if it gave her a bit of hope, right?


	40. Chapter 40

Now, Claude was all for equality, but war? No thank you. 

His reasoning for joining Edelgard was that, hey, she liked him well enough, if she saw him as an ally, maybe he could nudge her onto a different path. It'd sure be easier than meeting her as enemies and trying to work with her then. 

If it didn't work out... he could always stab her in the back.

He definitely didn't want to, though. He liked his original plan way better.

_'I just need to get on her good side as much as possible before she carries out her first attack. That's easy, right?' _Claude thought as he walked on the path to the reception hall alongside Edelgard. 

It was hard to think that the girl next to him was capable of such a thing...

Just then, Marianne and Ingrid were walking together in the opposite direction, before Marianne's foot caught on a part of the path that was a bit uneven. She started to fall, only to be caught by the blonde beside her.

A fake mouse flew out of Marianne's pocket, landing by Edelgard's feet.

Edelgard shrieked, practically jumping out of her skin. She clung to Claude with a terrible fear in her eyes...

"Wait, Edelgard, that's a cat toy!" Claude exclaimed hurriedly. 

Edelgard froze, before turning bright red.

"Ahem. I apologize. I... carry on as if that never happened."

"Kinda hard when you're still grabbing onto my arm."

Edelgard let go in a hurry, scrambling to return the toy to Marianne. She pinched the toy mouse's tail with her fingers, like she was reluctant to touch even a toy...

_'...how is she planning a war again?' _Claude wondered to himself, before getting a strange idea... _'...the information she's so sure about... where did she get it? Is she... being manipulated into this?'_

He was deeply pensive as Edelgard returned to his side.

_'Hm, it's a good thing I read up on Crests and the Church before. I think I've got enough of a base to work with from now on.'_

* * *

"A-achoo!" 

Hilda's sneeze interrupted a story she was telling Dimitri about what happened at the ball. They both stopped walking.

"Are you alright?" Dimitri asked. "It's getting colder, so take my cloak..."

"Hey, hey, you might get sick again! You already handed me your coat last night, there's no way I can just take it!" Hilda exclaimed. 

"Then, should we rest inside...?" 

They were passing by the dormitories on the way to the marketplace to browse for a birthday gift for Ingrid, but this meant that they were taking the route that wouldn't let them take a break inside a building unless they took a detour...

"I have a better idea!" Hilda exclaimed. 

Dimitri paused to hear it, only for Hilda to hug his arm and wrap the cloak over her shoulders.

"There we go! Now we can both be warm!" Hilda declared proudly, showing Dimitri a bright smile.

Dimitri flushed red for reasons that had nothing to do with any sort of cold.

Hilda froze, before asking, "um, are you fine with this? I don't wanna make you uncomfortable or anything. Tell me if you want me to back off, okay?"

"I-it's not that... it's not unpleasant, on the... contrary, really," Dimitri answered, looking away.

"No, seriously! Don't force yourself to be okay with it if you don't want to!"

"Hilda, I'm alright!" Dimitri exclaimed, though his hand went up to touch his blushing cheeks. "I'm just... flustered. E-excessively so, even."

It was then that Hilda realized... oh.

"Oh, well... alright then," Hilda said, her story about Seteth caring for Professor Manuela in her hungover state long forgotten.

They passed by the last room of the dormitories in silence. The greenhouse was right before them when Dimitri worked up the nerve to ask,

"Hilda, er... what's something you enjoy?" 

He kinda wanted to kick himself for being so awkward about it...

"Oh, I like making accessories and fashion," Hilda answered easily as they turned and went by the fishing pond. "I also like dancing, but not too much, or I'll get tired. And hanging out with friends is always fun!"

She looked up at him with a grin, asking, "what about you, Dimitri?"

Dimitri hesitated.

"I enjoy... training. And caring for my weapons," Dimitri answered.

"What do you do to relax?" 

Dimitri had no idea how to answer that. 

Hilda gave him a blank expression, but before he could apologize for being such a dull person, she said, "geez, Dimitri, if you don't learn to relax, you might end up dying of stress! I get that you're trying to be the perfect prince and all, but you still gotta think of yourself!"

"I'm not under much stress, really," Dimitri confessed. "Perhaps it might seem that I'm downplaying my difficulties, but I assure you, that's not the case."

"Really?" Hilda asked.

Dimitri smiled as he told her that he really meant it. 

"Every moment I'm with you, I enjoy myself," Dimitri told her. "I don't know where I would be if I never met you."

"O-oh..." Hilda blushed. She ducked her head, almost like she was trying to hide her face.

Dimitri realized what he had said, and, before he could stop himself, he asked her, "do... you feel the same? I can't imagine that I'm that sociable a person..."

"What are you talking about, Dimitri? I like spending time with you," Hilda answered easily. Then, with a bit of shyness in her tone, she added, "...I like you, Dimitri."

Dimitri froze. They came to a stop in the passageway between the entrance and the fishing pond... there weren't many people around, and the wall served to further hide them from sight...

"I mean... you don't have to care or anything. We can still be friends if that's what you want, but... I just wanted to tell you that I like you, and that the only thing stopping me from kissing you on the lips is the fact that you might not want to."

"Well, er... it's not that I would strictly be opposed t-to the notion..." Dimitri said. "In fact, I've... had untoward feelings for you for quite some time now, but, Hilda, are you sure?"

"Sure about what, you?"

"Yes. I'm rather inexperienced with these sorts of social endeavours, and I'm rather dull, and... wouldn't you be happier with someone else?"

Hilda's expression was blank.

Getting on her tiptoes, grabbing fistfuls of Dimitri's shirt to yank him down--

Hilda answered him with a kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im honestly baffled they managed to kiss. what the fuck? is that allowed?


	41. Chapter 41

"The war ended with the kiss of peace being exchanged between-- What was that noise," Professor Manuela suddenly interrupted her history lesson to ask.

"That was the boar ripping his textbook in half," Felix stated irritably.

Dimitri looked just as confused as everyone else, looking at the two halves of his textbook in his hands like a dog sitting near a broken vase.

Professor Manuela stared in shock, before moving her hand to cover her open mouth. 

"I... _how?_ ...How did you do that? And _why?_" she asked the prince, too baffled to be angry.

"I-I, I apologize," Dimitri said, his face bright red. "I do not... I don't know what came over me. I will accept any punishment you will give me."

Professor Manuela's eyebrows furrowed together as she moved her hand to massage her temples.

"No, no, I want to know why this happened before you get punished. Blind punishment will not help unless we address the cause."

"Huh, didn't the ripping start when Professor Manuela mentioned the _kiss_ of peace?" Annette asked innocently. 

"T-th-that...!"

"Dimitri... did you get kissed?" Mercedes asked outright, and Dimitri jolted in his seat. His knees hit the bottom of the table he was seated at and...

"...Your Highness, I think you might have broken the table as well," Dedue said simply.

"No way!" Sylvain exclaimed. "_How_?!"

"You did it!" Ingrid cheered.

"Professor, can I bake a cake to celebrate?!" Ashe demanded excitedly.

"Yes, you may, as long as I get some."

"Why would you do that?!" Dimitri demanded.

"Your Highness, we have been waiting too long!" Ingrid told him. "We were waiting for you to get together!"

There was a pause.

"...Your Highness. You _are_ together now, right?"

Dimitri was silent.

_"YOUR HIGHNESS--!!!!!!!!"_

* * *

"And that's why we need a new table in the Blue Lions classroom," Manuela told Jeralt, taking a swig from her glass.

"So, you've come to me," Jeralt noted.

The two of them were in a bar outside the monastery, their drunken complaining having become a sort of negotiation.

Manuela grinned, whispering to Jeralt quietly.

"Listen... Lady Rhea? She's gonna be _reeaaaaal _mad if she hears that this one student keeps breaking things, prince or not. But it's not his fault! So, just help out and help me keep it quiet, alright?"

"What's in it for me?" Jeralt asked, with all the expertise of a veteran mercenary.

"I'll pay your tab for the next month."

Their deal was sealed with a firm handshake.

The next day, Jeralt took Byleth with him as he went to browse the nearest furniture store.

Which sucked, because that was the day a bunch of Demonic Beasts attacked the chapel. All the three houses had to investigate together in face of the lack of power.

When they returned, they passed by the chapel.

The chapel was on fire, transformed Monica was back, there was a weird pale guy with a big veiny head and literal black eyes, and Dimitri had a broken arm.

"What the fuck," Jeralt said flatly.

Byleth shrugged.


	42. Chapter 42

The fire of the last demonic beast's final attack burned through the chapel ruins.

A figure emerged from the flames with a smile.

"Tomas?!" Claude cried out in shock.

"I'm not Tomas. My name is Solon, saviour of all!" 

And like Monica, he transformed.

"Be careful!" Edelgard ordered. "We have no idea what he wants!"

"I thought he had been absent for a research trip...!" Linhardt said.

"Oh, don't you see?" Solon gestured at the fallen students on the ground... "This _is_ a research trip. I always wanted to see what one could do with that girl's blood and Crest Stones in unison..."

Questions and cries of horror were thrown at him like stones.

"How could you?!" Annette screamed.

"What sort of cruelty...?" Marianne asked softly...

"You did this just to see what would happen?!" Ignatz demanded.

But then Dimitri spoke up.

"You... _monster_," Dimitri declared. "Scum such as you... selfish and callous as you are, deserve nothing more than a painful death!"

Felix sighed.

"D...Dimitri?" Hilda said softly, stunned by the sheer hatred in his voice.

"Are you okay, dude...?" Claude asked. 

And then Solon laughed.

"Heheheh... so the whelp who survived Duscur is now back to strike me down. The Flame Emperor will be pleased if I bring back your head!"

Edelgard was confused. She never asked him to...?

"Flame... Emperor...?" Dimitri asked.

Caspar furrowed his eyebrows together.

"Did we hear a name like that before...?"

"The Flame Emperor is the one who will conquer this world... the herald of tomorrow, the sunbringer... and the one for whom we orchestrated the Tragedy of Duscur."

"Oh no," Edelgard said quietly.

"You! **_YOU!_****_" _**Dimitri roared. "I swear... I will find every single one of your cohorts... and I will slice you open and hang you by **_YOUR_ _ENTRAILS!__"_**

And then Dimitri charged towards Solon, throwing his lance forward--!

The spear barely missed Solon's head, embedding itself in the stone wall behind him with the sound of stone cracking. Claude cursed as he rushed to back Dimitri up, bringing the rest of the students with him--!

Another figure teleported in, slicing at Dimitri with a familiar knife...!

"What kind of fool throws away his weapon on a battlefield?!" Kronya demanded, cackling. "You're gonna get yourself gutted, and it's no one's fault but yours!"

"So, you were another one of them all along!" Dimitri realized as he dodged. "No matter...! Every single one of you will die!"

And then--!

_"Dimitri!_" Hilda cried out. "Stop it! You're--!"

It happened in a split second.

Dimitri looked back at her.

Her eyes were wide with fear.

That split second of distraction let Kronya strike Dimitri's arm with a bone-cracking kick.

Before Hilda could finish her words,a scream ripped out of her throat.

A series of arrows kept Kronya from stabbing at Dimitri.

"S-stop it! You won't... won't kill anyone else!" Bernadetta exclaimed.

"You won't touch His Highness!" Ashe declared.

"There's no way we'll lose," Leonie promised.

"You should start running!" Ignatz yelled.

Claude simply looked to Edelgard, who nodded. It was a silent confirmation that she didn't order this.

Edelgard and Claude ordered the rest of their classmates to move, seamlessly working together.

Dimitri felt disjointed, even as Claude ordered Mercedes to heal him, for Ferdinand to hand him another lance.

He could hardly process the feeling of healing magic bringing the pieces of his arm back together, or notice when Jeralt and Byleth entered the fray.

Dimitri only vaguely noted Jeralt striking Kronya down, Solon running away with his tail between his legs. Byleth tried to get them all to return to the monastery, but Dimitri's feet were dragging behind him...

The only things Dimitri could register were feelings of disgust, hatred, and shame. Hatred for what the two monsters had done, shame that he couldn't be the one striking them down...

And disgust at himself, for descending to such an extent.

The image of Hilda's frightened expression flashed in front of his eyes.

_'I'm nothing but a bloodthirsty beast,' _was what he thought at the time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter was hard to write lol. oh well.


	43. Chapter 43

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯¯\\_(ツ)_/¯¯\\_(ツ)_/¯¯\\_(ツ)_/¯¯\\_(ツ)_/¯¯\\_(ツ)_/¯¯\\_(ツ)_/¯¯\\_(ツ)_/¯¯\\_(ツ)_/¯¯\\_(ツ)_/¯¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

According to Dedue, Dimitri had been hiding in the chapel, but Hilda suspected that Dedue was trying to cover for Dimitri from how still his expression was. She still thanked him, looked for Dimitri there, and found nothing. 

Hilda looked everywhere she could think, even heading to town, but she didn't find him, even as her search stretched into the evening.

Hilda had actually given up and tried to go to bed, telling herself that she would talk to Dimitri the next day, when she realized something.

Dimitri had probably been avoiding her all day. Moving around, just as she was. But, now that she had gone to bed... he would remain in one place, wouldn't he?

Wrapping herself in a blanket, Hilda set out.

In the daytime, the balcony beside the dining hall was just that, a simple balcony. But at night, it was where they witnessed the stars reflecting in the lake together.

A special place...

Just as she thought, Hilda found him there, still wearing his uniform even in the night air.

"...Dedue. Please leave me be," Dimitri said at the sound of approaching footsteps.

His gaze was on the stars above, so far away that, if not for his hand grabbing the railing, she would have thought he might have floated off already. 

"Sorry to disappoint, but I'm not Dedue," Hilda replied.

Dimitri's eyes widened as Hilda made her way up, leaning on the railing next to him. 

"Some view, huh?" Hilda asked with the same bright grin as always.

"What... are you doing?" Dimitri asked. "Why are you here?"

"To spend time with you, of course," Hilda answered.

Dimitri's expression became pained.

"Why would you do such a thing?" Dimitri asked her, his voice seeming... lost. Confused. "After seeing me in such a state... weren't you frightened?

_'Disgusted,'_ his mind supplied. _'Haven't you realized that you were better off without someone like me?'_

"Yeah, it was scary," Hilda admitted. "I never saw you so reckless and angry before... but, looking back on it, I really should have expected you to be angry. That jerk was taunting you with the Tragedy!"

She let out a sigh, adding, "you charged right at him... I thought you were going to get yourself _killed. _That was terrifying...!"

The persistent image of her horrified eyes became replaced by Hilda's concerned expression in Dimitri's eyes.

"I don't want to let you suffer alone," she said. "Because... you're really not alone, you know? You've got so many friends who are worried for you, and they want you to be okay, me included."

Hilda gave him a gentle smile, before moving closer to the stunned Dimitri.

He could barely process that she was with him, not looking at him with hatred but with kindness, so when she hugged him, he just froze.

"I'm here for you if you need it, okay, Dimitri?" Hilda told him. "I'll listen to you."

Dimitri hesitated.

"I'm sorry, Hilda," he said.

"It's not something to apologize for!" Hilda exclaimed. "I want to be there for you! It's not a burden or anything!"

And maybe earlier, Dimitri would have insisted, pushed her away, or protested. Say he didn't deserve it, say he couldn't accept it, anything.

But instead, he just... stood there. For a long while.

Hilda was about to let go, when Dimitri lifted a hand and placed it on her shoulder.

"Dimitri?"

Dimitri was silent for a moment, before...

He leaned down, wrapping both his arms around her.

As he breathed, he seemed to slowly relax. His body was warm around her, warmer than the blanket and much more effective at keeping away the cold...

After a moment, Hilda said, "come on. Let's go back inside, Dimitri," with a smile.

Dimitri went along with her suggestion with little resistance. Hilda hugged his arm and added his cloak on top of her blanket. 

The walk to the stairs to their floor and the following hallway trek was spent in silence, but when they reached Hilda's door, the pigtailed girl just shook her head.

"Can I see your room this time?" she asked.

And in the late hour, in their tired state, after that battle, things like impropriety and scandal hardly mattered to Dimitri anymore, though he knew they _should_...

"...alright," he said after a pause.

They kept going, and Dimitri opened the door for her. 

He wasn't quite sure where to stay, feeling foreign in his own room, so he simply let Hilda bring him inside. Out of routine, he took off his armour and left them in their usual places.

"It's different in here at night, huh?" Hilda noted.

The only lighting in the room was the light streaming in through the windows. It left half the room heavily-shadowed and somber-looking. 

Dimitri simply let out a vague acknowledgement of her words, so Hilda kept talking. 

"...hey, that was what you meant, wasn't it? The people you had to get revenge on," Hilda said. 

"Yes. No matter the cost, I will get revenge for those who died at their hands," Dimitri stated. 

"No!" Hilda said instantly, before remembering to quiet down. Her expression was pained as she whispered, "I mean... why do you want to put revenge above your own life?"

Dimitri couldn't answer as Hilda turned her wet eyes towards him.

"You're here right now, with friends who care about you, with people who would be heartbroken if you died..." Hilda said. "And I just... I don't want you to throw your life away..."

Dimitri was silent for a while, before sighing.

"I don't understand how you could have so much concern for a monster like me."

"...huh?" Hilda said, honestly confused. "Monster? You?"

Dimitri nodded, saying, "I was certain you'd be disgusted by my bloodlust and come to hate me. The fact that you haven't is proof of your astonishing kindness."

"Hold on, can we go back a second? What are you talking about?" Hilda asked.

"I'm nothing but a murdering monster who lives for revenge," Dimitri said outright, hoping that this way, Hilda could realize that maybe, he wasn't worth saving--

"Um, no?" Hilda replied easily. "If you were a monster, why would you hate evil people? Or try so hard to fulfill your dad's last wish? Or hate killing people? Or feel so guilty? Or be really nice to people and have lots of friends?"

"I..."

"I don't think monsters are so dutiful or respectful, either. You're really responsible and nice and selfless? What part of you is monstrous?"

In an almost _innocent_ manner, Hilda managed to completely shut down Dimitri's doubts, at least for a while. 

"You... really are an unbelievably kind person," Dimitri said, almost to himself.

Hilda was confused, but her attempt to question him was cut off by her yawning.

"Sorry, it's not like I'm falling asleep because I don't care," Hilda said, "I just... you know."

"I apologize for keeping you up," Dimitri told her. 

And before he could offer to walk her to her room, she said,

"Hey, that's fine. In exchange, can you make sure I'm warm tonight?"

"...what?" Dimitri asked.

"I just want to hug you as I fall asleep. This blanket is way too thin, and you're warm," Hilda reasoned simply. "Plus, I left my favourite teddy bear at home, so..."

In truth, she was actually just worried for him, but he didn't need to know about that.

Dimitri was silent for a short moment, but before Hilda could say that it was a joke, he opened his arms awkwardly.

"If... that's what you'd like," he said. In the darkness, his blush was imperceptible.

Hilda paused for a moment, before grinning.

"Thank you, Dimitri!" she said as she hugged him.

* * *

"Your Highness? Dude, wake up! How are you not in class already?!" Sylvain called out as he knocked on Dimitri's door. Under his breath, he added, "jeez, it's supposed to be the other way around...!"

The door opened quickly, and Dimitri emerged in his wrinkled uniform.

"...did you fall asleep in your uniform or something?" Sylvain asked.

"Yes, just give me a moment to change and I'll be right out!" Dimitri said hurriedly. 

"Alright, cool--"

"Mmmnrghh... too early..."

The two boys froze as Hilda poked her head out from the blankets on Dimitri's bed.

"...holy shit. Holy shit?! **_HOLY SHIT?!"_**

"T-th-this isn't what it looks like! Really, Sylvain--!"

"Dimitri?! _Dimitri?!_"

"Will you shut up?!" Felix screamed from his room.

Claude poked his head out from his door, flatly wondering what the hell was making these idiots be so loud.

Did they forget that it was the weekend or something?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so, uhhhhhh


	44. Fucking hell, Hilda

There were two whole months before Edelgard planned to attack the Holy Tomb.

Claude had to do everything in his power to persuade her otherwise before that took place. Otherwise, he had to fall back on his backup plan, and he didn't want to fall back on his backup plan, because that plan involved kidnapping.

He chased down several ideas in his head. 

Should he something that could prove her truth wrong?

Maybe propose a different way to unite Fódlan? 

Or, his last option...

Claude thought it over. Then, he realized that the three were not mutually exclusive.

He made up a quick plan, then, set it in motion.

* * *

"Hilda, can you do me a favour?" Claude asked straight up.

Hilda seemed a bit stunned by how upfront he was, so Claude continued, moving his hands about in a nervous manner as they walked towards the dorms.

"See, well... I'm a guy," Claude said awkwardly.

"Yeah, I can tell," Hilda replied immediately.

"No, no, I mean... shit, I started this off wrong. What I mean to say is, as a girl, you could get info I can't, right? Like, what a certain girl would like in terms of gifts?"

"You want me to question Edelgard for you," Hilda translated.

"Yes, exactly!" Claude said. "I'll go do something inconspicuous and innocent while you chat her up in her room and find out what sort of thing I could get her!"

Hilda let out a laugh.

"Jeez, do you really have to come up with a scheme for everything? You're dating, aren't you?"

Claude laughed too, half because he didn't know either and half to avoid the question entirely.

"Go, go, I'll be waiting!" Claude cheered.

"Alright, alright, but I expect heaps of praise!"

"Woo, Hilda! You're the best! A cut above all the rest!" Claude chanted as Hilda went up the stairs.

Now, Edelgard had been preparing something very important for her plans, because it had been literal months since she had pulled her Flame Emperor costume out from its hiding place and she had to check if she could still remove it easily.

And Claude knew this, because she had told him she would be busy and that he couldn't come in and invite her to tea. So naturally, he had distracted Hubert from making sure no one opened that door without telling Edelgard and then sent Hilda up there to mess up her plans. 

Couldn't do shit to no one if your plans were a mess, right?

Hilda knocked on Edelgard's door, stunning the princess. The white-haired girl accidentally dropped the suit of armour onto the floor at the sudden sound.

"Edelgard?! Are you okay?!"

"U-um, yes! I am!" Edelgard exclaimed, hurriedly shoving armour back under her bed. 

"What was that crashing noise?"

Edelgard paled as she realized that, due to her hasty movements making them all pile up, she couldn't fit all of the pieces under the floorboard...! 

"I accidentally knocked over a bookshelf!" Edelgard yelled, gathering up the rest of the armour pieces to find somewhere else to put them...!

She shoved a pauldron under her pillow, before looking around in a panic for a place to put her helmet.

"Are you sure? It sounded more... metal-y. Do you need help?"

"I'm fine! It just, the bookshelf had a few trinkets on it! A, um, metal... metal... cat sculpture?"

"Did it fall on you? Should I get you to the infirmary?"

"No, no, I uh, just... dodged it! Yeah! I dodged it!"

"Edelgard... if you're lying just so I won't worry, it won't work! I'll seriously break down the door and carry you to the infirmary!"

"No! Don't!" Edelgard exclaimed, sweating as she tried to find literally anywhere to hide her helmet.

"How come?! Are you hurt?!"

"N-no! I just, I... painted a portrait of.... of Claude! And I would actually rather burn down the monastery than let anyone know!" Edelgard lied. "I'm trying to find a place to hide it!"

"Ahahaha! Is that all? Don't worry, my lips are sealed! Take as long as you need!"

Edelgard let out a sigh of relief, before opening her window and throwing the helmet out as hard as she could.

(Outside, Raphael suddenly dodged the flying projectile, startling Bernadetta and Petra and impressing a Hubert watching from the shadows.)

(Now, it should be noted that Hilda never met the Flame Emperor before. She wouldn't be able to recognize the armour even if she walked in at any point of this exchange.)

"I apologize for the delay," Edelgard said, opening her door. "Was there something you needed?"

"Well, I want to have a girl hang out session with you!" Hilda exclaimed.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Oh, don't give me that, I wanted to hang out with my friend, and also _check if you got yourself hurt,"_Hilda said, and there was an edge to her voice that said that Edelgard could not refuse. "So, you mind if I come in?"

Edelgard quietly let her inside. Hilda instinctively went for her bed, but that was bad and terrible for all the pillowy reasons, so Edelgard had to hurriedly pull out her desk chair for Hilda to sit down.

Hilda accepted the chair, letting Edelgard take the bed.

Hilda's examination mostly consisted of patting Edelgard's head for any bumps and asking if she got hit anywhere else. Edelgard was very honest when she said that nothing hurt.

"That's great!" Hilda said, before wondering how exactly she was supposed to go from injuries to _'surprise gift ideas without tipping you off'_.

In the end, she settled on, "your room's real tidy!" because she needed to stall for time.

Edelgard's expression stiffened, and Hilda realized...

"Oh, well, you must have cleaned up in a hurry, from the bookshelf..."

It was then that Hilda realized that Edelgard had, at most, an alcove on which to put books, and not a thing that could actually fall over. She didn't even have a cat sculpture. 

Now, Hilda was willing to dismiss this as _'oh, Edelgard was really desperate to hide that painting, huh'_ but then Edelgard was rushing to keep Hilda from connecting the dots.

"I knocked over all my books because I was panicking," Edelgard lied.

"Over what?" Hilda asked.

"Cl...clothes?" Edelgard offered uncertainly.

And then Hilda instantly knew what to do.

"Oh? Why? Did you... want a new outfit or something...?" Hilda asked, trailing off with a slight grin. She thought it could be something Claude could do!

"...yes! That is _exactly_ it!" Edelgard said. "I wanted to change my appearance, because... sometimes, I would like to be... cute? Like, uh, you!"

It was then that Hilda's grin widened with honoured giddiness.

"Edelgard--! Don't worry! You're as cute as cute can be already! No need to copy me at all!" Hilda exclaimed. "You don't need anything else!"

"Um--"

"I mean, if you need proof, just hang on!"

"Hilda wait--"

And Edelgard could not stop her, because fucking hell, Hilda was a goddamn force of nature when she wanted to be.

* * *

"Sylvain, please--"

"Are you kidding me?! She _kissed you?!_ And then _slept in your bed__?!_ And you're still not dating?! How?!" Sylvain screamed, disturbing the air in the courtyard.

"Sylvain--"

"I don't care if you two didn't have sex! Who kisses a guy and then sleeps in his bed without having feelings for him!?"

"Sylvain--" 

"She is basically throwing herself at you and you are _dodging!_" Sylvain exclaimed, demonstrating this concept by moving his hands past each other dramatically. "How are you managing this?!"

_"Sylvain_\--"

"Listen, buddy, dude, _pal_, you can confess with a _dagger_. It's okay. I'm giving you _permission_ to use the dagger," Sylvain said. "But please, for the _love of the goddess_, just **_actually confess_****."**

And then Claude walked up to them.

"Yo, Your Highness!" Claude called out. "Teach is calling you, better hurry and come with!"

"Alright! I'm coming!" Dimitri replied. 

He turned back towards Sylvain, who was giving him the most impatient, exasperated expression possible.

"I'm leaving now," Dimitri said. 

Sylvain's only answer was, "Your Highness. If you manage to ask her out, I will apply myself in class, stop flirting around too wildly, and actually take some things seriously."

With a heavy statement like that suddenly thrown at him, Dimitri left with Claude.

"So, Professor Byleth...?"

"Oh, no, they didn't call you," Claude said. "I was lying."

"...why?"

"You seemed uncomfortable, so I decided to give you an out," Claude said casually.

"Claude... thank you so much," Dimitri said in the utmost seriousness.

"Hey, hey, it's no big deal!" Claude replied. "Just help me out if I need it and we'll be even, alright?"

"Of course."

"Ah! Perfect! There they are!"

"Hilda--! Hilda, wait--!"

The two boys paused at the approaching voices, before their eyes widened.

Hilda was dragging Edelgard towards them by the hand. The pigtailed girl had an anxious expression on her face...

Because Edelgard was the one wearing pigtails. Hilda had worn her hair down with Edelgard's ribbons. And, on top of that, they had even switched uniforms.

Hilda stopped right before the two boys, Edelgard stopping just a bit behind her.

"Hm? Something special going on?" Claude asked. "Some sort of special switcheroo day or something?"

"What? No, I just gave Edelgard a makeover! What do you think, you guys?"

"Please spare me the ridicule..." Edelgard said softly.

"I don't think you look bad at all, El," Dimitri replied, "but you do look uncomfortable."

"Yeah, I'd have to agree," Claude said. "I mean, the princess is cute enough in her own clothes, so what prompted this?"

Hilda did not reply to either of them, instead taking Edelgard's hands in her own and saying, "see?! You don't _have_ to change yourself at all to be considered cute! You're already the cutest of the cutest of the cutest, so hold your head up with pride! Don't worry about comparing yourself to anyone else!"

Edelgard's face almost went as red as her cloak, even though it was wrapped around Hilda's shoulder. The cloak whooshed in the wind as Hilda rounded on Claude.

"And you! You don't have to go through complicated schemes to tell Edelgard you like her! All you need to do is be more open and show more affection! That's all she wants!"

"W-wait, um--"

"I mean it! Compliments, saying _'you're cute'_, noticing things, maybe even an _'I like you'_, that's all a girl needs to be happy! Just be more honest, Claude!"

Claude wasn't sure if he pressed his hand to his face to cover up a laugh or a blush as Hilda rounded on Dimitri.

"I don't actually know if there's something I'm supposed to be yelling at you for," Hilda admitted, her voice happy and relaxed all of a sudden, "but whatever you're doing, do your best! Remember to rely on your friends! I'll be cheering for you!"

Dimitri flushed as she leaned forward and waved her arms with a smile.

Hilda laughed, before taking off the cloak, wrapping it around Edelgard, and lightly pushing the princess towards Claude. Edelgard was too baffled to resist much, even as Hilda practically shoved the other girl's head into Claude's chest.

Hilda then turned, gave Claude a thumb's up, blew a kiss goodbye at Dimitri, and left.

The three house leaders were in varying states of internal chaos because of that.

Claude could only think one thing as he looked down at Edelgard's flustered expression.

_'Fucking hell, Hilda's more effective than I thought!'_

In his head, his plan went from _'use Hilda as a distraction sometimes while I investigate things'_ to _'THROW HILDA AT THE TWO EDGELORDS AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE AND LET HER WORK HER MAGIC.'_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the only reason this chapter isn't named 'hell yeah, hilda' is because it would give away the fact that hilda is not fucking things over


	45. Chapter 45

Dimitri was brooding.

It was very easy to see, at least if you were Claude.

Since, well, most people, when watching Ashe, Mercedes, Hilda, Dedue, Lysithea, and Edelgard baking treats together, would find themselves melting at the cuteness.

Dedue had gotten everyone handmade aprons, so Hilda thanked him and called him the best. Mercedes was showing Ashe an easier way to mix with a whisk. Lysithea struggled to carry the large bag of flour, so Edelgard helped her lift it.

Annette was chattering excitedly to Cyril about cleaning up afterwards, the boy not realizing that Annette fully intended on joining him with cleaning the entire monastery. Raphael had managed to drag Bernadetta into a conversation with him, Marianne, and Ignatz. She was doing well! Ingrid was scolding Sylvain for hitting on Petra, who didn't understand. Felix snacked on bits of meat Ashe prepared for him since he didn't like sweets. Lorenz and Ferdinand were talking about which sweets went best with tea. Dorothea had accidentally promised to make heart-shaped cookies for Leonie and was trying to recover by offering some to Caspar and Linhardt. Caspar said no. Hubert was engraving every moment of Edelgard's happiness into his skull. Flayn was talking to Marianne, because Flayn wanted sweets too and Marianne, shy as she was, wanted this little girl to have fun and be happy.

The atmosphere was fun and happy and adorable! Not even Professor Byleth (supervising to ensure the kitchen didn't catch fire) could resist cracking a smile!

And then there was Dimitri, sitting in the corner, _brooding_. He didn't even seem to register that Hilda was in a cute heart-patterned apron with her hair in buns to prevent getting into any batter or mix.

Naturally, Claude had to go over and check what could have possibly caused him to be so distressed.

Hopefully, it wasn't something like _'I'm angry at the knife people' _or something... Claude wasn't sure if continuing to throw Hilda at that was a good idea. She was effective, but she had to think of her own well-being sometimes too, and if she wouldn't, Claude would for her.

So Claude asked.

Dimitri waffled about, trying to assure Claude not to worry, that he was fine, stuff like that, but Claude wouldn't let him get away with it. So Dimitri eventually relented.

And then the answer turned out to be, "how do you... _'hit on' _a girl?"

Claude almost fell out of his chair in his ensuing laughter.

"Oh Dimitri. Oh, sweet, innocent prince," Claude said, "you _don't even have to_."

Dimitri didn't understand what the fuck that meant, so Claude just went and gave Dimitri a book on pick-up lines he found in the dormitory hallway. 

"...doesn't this belong to Sylvain?" Dimitri asked.

"No idea."

"Claude, it has Sylvain's name written on the inside cover."

"I can't read."

"Claude—"

"Listen, just give it to Professor Byleth after, they'll return it like they do with all the stuff everyone loses, it's fine if you borrow it!"

"_Claude_, I cannot rob a childhood friend of mine of something so valuable—"

"Go for it!" Sylvain yelled, because he was sitting at the same table. "You need it!"

"Thanks, dude!" Claude said, and he flashed a thumbs up at Sylvain. Sylvain did one in return with a grin.

"Oh no," Ingrid said. _"Oh no."_

* * *

Dimitri was very silent as he walked Hilda around the monastery.

"Maybe art? Edelgard could— oh, oh no, you said you snapped paintbrushes... and you can't sew, either, um..." Hilda paused, because she was trying to help Dimitri figure out a hobby he could do to relax. "Maybe horseback riding? Or, or, long walks! Flower-viewing!"

She brightened as she turned to Dimitri.

"What do you think of flower-viewing, Dimitri?" she asked with a grin.

Now, if Dimitri had even a modicum of smoothness, he would have replied with _'alright, would you come with me?' _and turned her suggestion into a date.

If he was more smooth, he would have gone with, _'but is there a single flower out there that can compare to your beauty?'_

And if he were smoother still, he would have not been in this situation in the first place.

Instead, Dimitri stared at Hilda, suddenly looked away with a blushing face, and said, "I'm going to go to the training hall."

This was because Dimitri went to the training hall to not think, and he was absolutely in need of not thinking at the moment.

"Hey, wait! The entire point of this is so you can relax _without_ going to the training hall!" Hilda exclaimed, following after Dimitri. "What will you do if you hurt yourself overworking?! Dimitri!"

And like, Dimitri was legitimately trying. He took notes on the flirting book and everything. He was just trying very much too hard and kind of overloaded his entire brain, because then he just sorta......?

"I think the goddess needs to count her angels!" Dimitri blurted out, completely embarrassed. "There's one right in front of me!"

And Hilda, despite frequently being flirted with, totally failed to recognize that this was meant in an attempt at flirting. Dimitri was so far removed from the concept of flirting in her head that she didn't even think it was possible for him to flirt?

"...are you okay," Hilda asked flatly.

"I, um, I think that skirt is made of mirrors, because... b-because..."

Hilda's expression was enough to convince Dimitri to stop.

"I am so dreadfully sorry," he said.

"No, let's just get you to the training hall after all," Hilda said in return. "They have a medical kit there."

Yeah, her immediate reaction to Dimitri flirting was to think that _he got hit in the head too hard._

Dimitri was too flustered to register this implication, and so accepted this without complaint. She managed to drag him to a bench as she grabbed the kit and started patting his head for any bumps or bruises. 

Now, Dimitri was in a state of high tension nervousness, and also not very familiar with human affection in general. So, the sudden head pat made him flinch out of embarrassment and shock. This made Hilda flinch and fall over too. Dimitri instantly moved to catch her, but instead he wound up falling with her...

Thankfully, neither of them were hurt.

Un-thankfully... people tended to use the training hall. In particular, people who actually took their training seriously... 

So Felix walked in on what appeared to be Dimitri pinning a girl to the floor.

"You _must_ be joking? The _training hall?_ You're doing this _here?" _Felix demanded in a rage. "Have you finally decided to embrace your instincts, boar?"

And while Dimitri was once again having to clarify to one of his childhood friends that _'no please listen this isn't what it looks like—' _as he practically jumped off of her, Hilda's reaction was more—

"Hey! Why do you keep calling Dimitri a boar?!" Hilda demanded, because that was clearly the more important thing here.

"That's what he is. A wild boar, running on instinct and living for the dead."

That's when Hilda realized something.

Felix actually had a point about Dimitri being stuck in the pain of the past. 

He was just rude as all hell about it. And mean.

So Hilda sat up and crossed her arms at Felix, wearing a very stern expression.

"So what?! If you have a problem with Dimitri, then why not say it outright instead of hiding behind insults and jabs, huh?!" Hilda demanded. "You won't get anywhere by just stupidly lashing out at friends who need your help and insight! All you're doing is pushing people away like a coward!"

And, because Hilda could tell that, standing before her was a prideful boy who couldn't admit his own weaknesses, she added,

"You can swing around your sword as much as you want, but it's all going to be meaningless if you don't have anything or anyone to fight for."

Hilda stood and went to leave with a flick of her hair. When she passed by Felix, she let out a dismissive _'hmph'_.

"Hilda?" Dimitri asked.

"See you later, Dimitri."

And with that, she was gone.

Felix let out a sigh.

"Why did you bring your pet rabbit here in the first place?" he demanded.

"...are you... by any chance, referring to Hilda?" Dimitri asked.

Felix nodded irritably.

"I assure you, I had no intention of doing anything untoward. We simply fell over by accident while she was checking for any injuries."

And Felix looked, and found the medical kit on the bench.

He let out a contemplative hum as he picked it up, Dimitri looking confused and curious about Felix's strange actions.

"Felix?"

"I suppose you've gotten better, if you've let go of the past enough to want a future date," Felix said simply, putting the medical kit back in its usual place.

Dimitri watched on in curiosity as Felix went to grab his sword.

"Well?" Felix asked impatiently. "Pick up your weapon. I want to test my strength against yours."

Dimitri was surprised, but he quickly recovered and went for a training spear. 

They had a few sparring matches in the following days. It was not quite the friendship they had in the past, but it was an improvement over their relationship as of late.

* * *

"Huh... so you were trying to flirt with me to make Sylvain act all serious and junk?" Hilda asked, condensing Dimitri's lengthy explanation/apology into one sentence.

"Yes," Dimitri admitted shamefully, and Hilda laughed.

"Don't worry about it! I'd let you flirt with me anyways, so I don't mind!"

Dimitri felt his heart stop as his eyes widened, while Hilda just casually said, "oh, by the way, I've heard Felix was acting a bit nicer recently. What do you think?"

"Um, he has been. Kinder, I mean," Dimitri said stiltedly.

"Great!" Hilda exclaimed, and the conversation went by without either of them addressing what Hilda had said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> can felix now confess his dumbass pining crush on ashe now? please?  
(of course not but hes getting there. i think)


	46. Chapter 46

Hilda was watching the others in the dining hall with a pensive expression on her face.

Why?

Well...

"El," Dimitri said with a smile in the midst of a conversation.

"Mercie!" Cyril and Annette called out, asking Mercedes for help healing Lysithea after a nasty fall..

"Edie!" Dorothea greeted as she walked by

"Annie, Cy," Mercedes said as she patted the two on the head.

"Princess!" Claude exclaimed dramatically, making Edelgard roll her eyes.

Hilda's thoughts on the matter?

_'That's so fucking cute,'_ she thought. _'I want a nickname now.'_

But, when she thought about it, _'Hilda'_ wasn't very easy to turn into a nickname...

_'Maybe if I give everyone a nickname instead...!' _

Hilda was thinking with the same fervour as Claude did when he schemed. 

She couldn't call Edelgard princess, because that was Claude's thing. Claude made her title sound flirty and affectionate, so Hilda couldn't. El was a childhood nickname, so she didn't want to steal that. That was Dimitri's thing.

Edel...

Maybe she could ask Dorothea if they could brainstorm nicknames together. Dorothea seemed to have a nickname for everyone. Except people she didn't like much.

The entire meal, Hilda was distracted by coming up with nicknames. 

Looking at the other members of her house, Hilda came up with Lysie, Leo (maybe Leah if that rolled off the tongue better), Natz (Iggy sounded weird), Ralph, Mari, and Lorie (only if Lorenz was behaving). Claude could be Mr. Leader Guy.

For the Black Eagles, she had Dora/Thea (she'd ask Dorothea which one she liked better later), Cass, Edie/Gardie, Lin, Bernie/Detta, and Ferdie. She didn't want to call Petra _'pet' _or anything, so until further notice, Petra was Super Sword Lady.

(Hubert kind of worried her, even though he was Edelgard's friend, because Hilda kept spotting him following Raphael in the shadows. Hubert didn't get a nickname.)

And the Blue Lions...

Ashey, Annie, Mercie, Ing (best she could come up with), Felix would not get nickname rights until he called Dimitri by name, Dedue was Incredi-Baker Dude until she got a better idea, Sylvie...

And then there was Dimitri, and honestly, Hilda was fucking struggling with him? 

Mitri didn't sound like a thing, she didn't think Dimi sounded good, and she couldn't figure out anything else? 

But like, the dude had like four different childhood friends. Someone had to have called him _something_ affectionate and friendly when they were younger, right?

When Hilda looked up, though, the Blue Lions minus Dimitri had vanished...

So Hilda stood up and quietly left to search for them, because this was like, the most important quest of her entire life.

"Well, I gotta go, the library's calling," Claude said, getting up to leave. "You three have fu— aaaaaaaand.. Hilda's gone."

Claude decided to forget the library for a day, because he did not want to leave those two without their daily dose of _'Please Calm the Fuck Down' _energy.

* * *

Meanwhile, the Blue Lions were having a betting pool in their classroom on a table that was just several desks put together.

"Two weeks," Annette said, throwing in three coins. 

"I'll say three," Ashe added. His contribution to the betting table was a pair of candies.

"I have faith in His Highness and all, but... two months," Sylvain stated. He was betting five coins and an IOU for free math tutoring.

"A year," Ingrid offered, almost slamming a curry comb onto the table.

Dedue put his bet on exactly five months and gave a pack of seeds. He did this through notes, because he wasn't supposed to _talk _about Dimitri's feelings.

Dedue had learned the value of loopholes and slight disobedience after seeing Hilda's complete disregard for Dimitri's words lead to him sleeping more and not overworking himself.

"I don't see why I should care about the prince and his pet rabbit," Felix said, "but it'll take three weeks."

His bet was a piece of paper. Literally just a piece of paper.

"Two years," Mercedes said flatly, putting a bag of buttons on the table.

"Two years?! We'll be dead by then!" Sylvain exclaimed. "Dead from waiting!"

"I have to agree," Ingrid said sadly. "There has to be some other way. There is no way I am waiting for two years for those two idiots to—"

"Hi guys, sorry to interrupt but I got a question," Hilda said as she walked in casually.

Ingrid immediately laid her arm flat on the table and swept everything onto the floor, because Hilda could never know.

"What can we help you with?" Ashe asked amicably, kicking everything under the table.

"I'm coming up with nicknames. Dimitri's giving me trouble. Does anyone have any ideas?"

"Um," Annette said, exchanging a look with Mercedes.

_'Doesn't he like the fact that she calls him by name instead of his title?' _was what the two of them were thinking.

"Uh, well, we had a nickname for him when we were younger, but he sorta outgrew it," Sylvain said. "Too cutesy for him now."

"That's fine! It's okay because I'm cute!" Hilda exclaimed, slamming her hands on part of the table excitedly. The desk her hands landed on shook beneath her strike, but she didn't notice. "Please, tell me!"

"My desk...!" Felix said, worried another table would be broken because of these people.

And then Ingrid actually stopped to think about what would happen if Hilda learned that nickname...

* * *

_Turning around cutely, Hilda seemed to sparkle as she called out, "Dima~!_ _♡"_

_Dimitri had a heart attack on the spot, killing him instantly._

* * *

"No, I cannot lose him this soon!" Ingrid exclaimed suddenly, getting weird looks.

"Oh, um, did your attention slip? Lack of sleep?" Ashe asked, offering her an out.

"Y-yes! I've been missing out on sleep to read, so I've been drifting off recently! Please forgive me!" Ingrid exclaimed.

"That's not good...! You should try and catch up on your sleep!" Hilda said. Mercedes nodded sternly with her. "I'll give you my lap if you need it!"

"Oh no. No, no, no, I am fine. Very fine. Please, offer that to someone who needs it more," Ingrid said desperately, and she looked at Sylvain from the corner of her eye. She was signalling for him to not tell Hilda at any cost...!

"Hm, weird...! I completely forgot what we used to call His Highness when we were younger..." Sylvain lied.

"Oh... oh well! We can't do anything about that, huh?" Ingrid added quickly.

"Has your memory started to slip already? It wasn't even that long ago," Felix snapped. "You were so annoying, with your cries of—"

Sylvain immediately lunged for Felix and tried to put him in a one-armed chokehold, because it looked casual and kept Felix from talking. Except, naturally, Felix slapped his hand away and dodged.

"I remember now! We used to call him Little Ingrid!" Sylvain exclaimed as Felix demanded to know what had gotten into him.

"Right, right, because he was shorter than me, and we're both blonde, so he looked like he could be my little sibling!" Ingrid added.

(She didn't mention that she meant little sister.)

"Ah," Hilda said, almost disappointed.

Felix was very confused but a glare from Ingrid and Sylvain kept his mouth shut.

"Incredi-Baker Dude, you're Dimitri's childhood friend too! Do you call him anything special?" Hilda asked.

"Your Highness," Dedue answered, somehow knowing that she meant him.

Hilda paused.

"I mean... hm... if Claude can make _'princess' _a nickname..." Hilda said.

"No, no, no, no, please don't!" Ashe yelled, standing and slamming his hands on the table. 

"My _desk_...!"

"Please, just take a moment to think about the consequences of your actions!" Annette begged Hilda.

Because this was what Ashe was imagining,

* * *

_"Your Highness!" Hilda called out cutely._

_"Did I do something to anger you?! I apologize with all my heart!"_

* * *

And this was what Annette was thinking,

* * *

_"Your Highness!" Hilda called out cutely._

_"Did I do something to— **FHRHEJDVOAOJA**—?!"_

_"I thought that, since I'm wearing this maid outfit (origin not important), I might as well pay my respects! What do you think?"_

_And then Dimitri got a heart attack and died instantly._

* * *

"Please, Hildie, I'm begging you!" Annette cried out. "Spare him!"

And then Hilda paused.

"Hildie...! It's such a cute nickname...!" she said in awe. "Thank you!"

Hilda was very pleased as she said her goodbyes and left, humming from the delight of having the cute nickname she wanted. 

The Blue Lions let out a sigh of relief. Annette's quick thinking had spared Dimitri from a heart attack.

And then Dedue ran, because his instincts told him something terrible was happening in a kitchen and it involved Dimitri. He met up with Hubert on the way, because Hubert had a similar feeling regarding Edelgard.

* * *

"Oh, nonono, Your Highness, put that sauce away!" Claude ordered. "The wine in it really doesn't mesh well with the spices we're using."

"I apologize, Claude," Dimitri said. "I'll leave the rest in your hands."

Claude turned to Edelgard, who was attempting to cut the meat. She glared at her knife in frustration as she tried to saw off a nice, even cut of meat.

...the knife handle was beginning to crack in her hand.

"You alright there, Princess?"

"Claude, this knife is too small and impractical for this task. Might I get a larger blade?"

"...how large are we speaking, here?"

"An axe, Claude."

And Claude had so many problems with this? First of all that was so unsanitary? Also, please don't break anything? Also, please stop doing this? 

But he had so many problems that he couldn't figure out how to say them all fast enough, and before he did, Dimitri spoke up, and he said, "oh, that's a wonderful idea! With your control over your strength, I'm sure you'll be able to manage it well!"

Claude turned to stare at Dimitri in shock, before Edelgard went outside and walked back in with an axe. Just in and out. And Claude's disbelief was replaced with _'Edelgard, why the fuck are you hiding weapons on school grounds?!'_

Claude didn't manage to move fast enough to keep Edelgard from quickly wiping her axe blade and smashing the axe into the meat, which, uh, sort of broke the fucking counter.

Claude was torn between _'okay this is what we are doing now' _and _'how the fuck are you guys ding this'_. 

"Okay, that's great, we have our meat now," Claude said calmly. "Princess, can you just... turn on the stove? Don't do anything else until we're ready. Just turn it on at low heat."

And Edelgard nodded, and Claude decided, hey, Dimitri meant well, he was just a bit clumsy. So he focused on showing Dimitri how to tenderize the meat.

Five seconds later, the cut of meat was reduced to mush.

Claude didn't even bother questioning this anymore, so he just went, "alright, we're doing porridge! Let's grab some potatoes and..."

"The stove is hot," Edelgard reported.

"...it's on fire," Claude said flatly. "I said low heat. How did you do this."

Edelgard hesitated...

"...I thought it was too low. So, I used magic."

"We should... probably try and extinguish this," Dimitri said.

That was when Hubert and Dedue broke down the door. Dedue was carrying Ignatz under his arm, and let the bespectacled boy down on the floor.

It took Ignatz three uses of Fimbulvetr to extinguish the fire.

In the charred, slightly broken ruins of the kitchen, Claude started laughing his ass off. Edelgard and Dimitri stared at him for a moment, before chuckling too. Eventually, the three house leaders were just laughing in the mess as their three saviours looked on in bemused amusement.

* * *

"_You're_ giving Edie and Dimitri cooking lessons?" Hilda asked, eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"Um, wow, Hilda, that's very rude. I can cook perfectly well, thank you very much," Claude replied.

"Oh, yes, you cook perfectly well when you're not mixing random things together just to see what would happen," Hilda said flatly.

"What can I say? I'm a visionary. I see potential in things beyond common sense."

"If you teach them to cook oranges with mustard I'm going to punch you."


	47. EDELGARD.

Professor Manuela just sighed and took a sip of her drink when she heard that the kitchen was wrecked again. This was like the third time this year. She just couldn't care anymore.

"Please never set foot in the kitchen again unless someone is there to supervise," she said simply. 

Claude counted as a supervisor because his cooking was actually pretty good if he wasn't mixing peppers and mint to see what would happen.

They weren't even punished because Professor Manuela just knew they didn't mean to set it on fire, it just sort of happened. 

Still, this took some valuable time out of their day...

* * *

"Gosh, it really is getting colder outside...!" Hilda said, holding her mug of hot chocolate with a smile. "Thanks for letting us in your room, Detta!"

"N-no problem," Bernadetta replied shyly, because this was a huge step for her and she was incredibly nervous about it.

"I am appreciating it," Petra told her. 

"Sitting inside with friends with some hot chocolate on a cold day... it's really fun, isn't it?" Hilda asked.

And Bernadetta was glad, because Hilda was enough of a good conversationalist that even when faced with a social recluse and someone unfamiliar with the language, she managed to drag them into a friendly discussion.

"Yeah... it's fun..." Bernadetta said, before hurriedly taking a sip of her hot chocolate to cover up her blush.

"The cold of this place is strange to me," Petra stated. "This drink is like the warm sun of Brigid in one cup. I am thankful for it."

Hilda laughed.

"Yep, yep, it was so worth running from the dining hall to Detta's room with the kettle!"

"I really didn't expect you to d-do that... but we got to enjoy hot chocolate thanks to you, so, um, thanks!"

Petra nodded along, and Hilda smiled.

"Aww, you're making me blush! Thanks!"

It was then that Petra asked something.

"I have heard the rumours of something called _'snowfall' _when it is sufficiently chilled, but I have not seen anything of the sort. Is Garreg Mach not suitable for such weather?"

The other two paused to think.

"Now that you mention it..." Hilda said. "Isn't it weird that we haven't gotten any snow?"

"We _are_ in the mountains... and it's winter, so why haven't we gotten any...?" Bernadetta wondered. "Unless...! It's a curse?! Time will stay frozen in spring forever until—?!"

"Or maybe it's just... magic? Like, a magic barrier that keeps it from snowing here. Maybe if we went out into town, we'd see some?" Hilda offered.

"W-wait, are you... inviting...?" Bernadetta couldn't even finish the question.

"Only if you want to!" Hilda said to the both of them. "Just being able to sit here with friends is fun!"

"Yes. Rather than chase after the idea of snow, I am most currently thankful for this moment right now," Petra said.

Bernadetta felt herself get a little overwhelmed with emotion, so she hurriedly drank more of her hot chocolate to cover it up.

Then Hilda turned the conversation from snow to the bits of unfinished embroidery around Bernadetta's room. Before Bernadetta could scream in embarrassment, Hilda deftly praised her work until Bernadetta was teaching the two of them how to make little flowers in cloth with fine detail. 

Her hands were a little shaky, but...! The attention actually felt... kinda good! Go Bernie!

* * *

"I wonder where everyone is..." Edelgard said as she and the other house leaders escaped from their (slight) scolding.

"Perhaps they're inside to escape the chill?" Dimitri offered.

"Yeah, it's the perfect weather to be holed up inside! We should probably get inside too!" Claude exclaimed hurriedly, pushing them towards the dorms, because uh, well, um...

The truth was, in the Black Eagles classroom...

"Five years," Dorothea stated, putting a little pin on the table.

"Two days," Lysithea countered.

"I stand by my two years," Mercedes said bluntly.

"So cynical... I believe in her!" Ingrid declared.

"...what about His Highness?" Ashe asked. "Don't you believe in hi—"

"Not at all," Felix interjected.

"Nope," Sylvain said.

There wasn't a real strict division between the betting and not betting groups. Ignatz was betting, but also, Linhardt had fallen asleep on him again. Ferdinand and Lorenz had brought tea to the betting table despite talking about how gambling was a vice. Leonie was not betting anything but she was still sitting next to Dorothea. Hubert was watching from the shadows as Raphael started talking food with Ingrid. 

Cyril wasn't there because he was cleaning with Annette. He wanted to do it alone but Annette was a force of nature when she wanted to be.

They were having a great time!

* * *

"Faerghus is pretty cold and snowy, huh..." Hilda said the next day, at the dining table.

"Yeah, what about it?" Claude asked.

"If I ever went there, I'd probably freeze," Hilda noted.

"I hope that does not discourage you from ever visiting," Dimitri said.

"Of course not! Just keep me really warm and I'll be fine."

"...w...what would that entail, exactly?"

"Hmmm... what do you think?" Hilda asked, leaning towards Dimitri and hugging his arm with a grin.

Ingrid and Ashe were cheering for her. Mercedes sipped her tea in the most resigned fashion possible.

"I'll be sure to help you get warm clothing!" Dimitri exclaimed hurriedly, making Hilda laugh.

If it were possible, Mercedes would have sipped her tea harder.

"There you go!" Hilda said. "I'll be sure to visit with a cute and warm outfit!"

"I don't... what?" Edelgard asked as Claude sighed. "No. No I refuse."

Whereas everyone else was resigned to what they were seeing, Edelgard got up and did something about it! She could not let things go on like this!

"Get out of the dining hall, go to wherever private place you need to go, and sort out your obviously-requited feelings for each other!" Edelgard ordered, her hand bursting into flames.

"Princess?! No?!"

"I will set your meals aflame if you don't!"

"EDELGARD."

Hilda and Dimitri exchanged a glance, before Hilda stood up.

"You heard the lady, Dimitri! Let's go!"

"W-wait, er—!"

Hilda dragged Dimitri off. 

* * *

"Hilda—!"

The two of them came to a stop behind a pillar in the entrance hall. 

"It's more comfortable when no one is watching, right?" Hilda asked. "You don't have to feel pressured to accept or anything here."

Hilda's hand was still holding his.

"If you want to turn me down, it's fine," Hilda said, "we can still be friends and tell everyone that we're better off that way."

She smiled up at him softly.

"I... it's not as if I want to turn you down," Dimitri said softly. "I would also enjoy that, but..."

"What's stopping you?"

And Dimitri wanted to say that he wasn't used to this, that being so happy scared him, but instead, he said, "are you sure about me?"

"Yeah. I like you a lot, Dimitri," Hilda confessed, "and I think you like me a lot too. So what's stopping us from being happy together, right here, right now?"

"Is this really alright...? Can I really be so selfish...?"

"What's selfish about this?" Hilda asked, squeezing Dimitri's hand.

"I have my duties to the dead. Are you really okay with a man like me?"

"Yeah," Hilda answered. "Are you okay with me?"

Dimitri hesitated, raising his armoured hand to her face slowly. Hilda was grinning as she put her hand over his.

"I don't want to come off as too forward," Dimitri said shyly. "If... if you don't want to, you can push me away at any time. But, I would like to kiss you right now."

"Dimitri. Just kiss me already."

And he did.

Hilda went up on her tiptoes, Dimitri leaned over, and they met in the middle. Her arms wrapped around his shoulders and pulled him closer.

It was awkward at first, especially on Dimitri's end. But, as they kept going, Dimitri got a bit more, um. Confident really wasn't the right word for it.

It was more like he got really frustrated? When Hilda stumbled after being on her tiptoes for so long, Dimitri wrapped his arms around her waist, picked her up, and pinned her against the pillar. She wrapped her legs around his waist in response, making it easier on both of them.

When he realized that his gauntlets were keeping him from being able to touch her more, he practically ripped them off.

He paused after removing the gauntlets. Dimitri was breathing heavily as he realized that Hilda was staring at the burn scars on his hands. He fully expected her to be disgusted and stop, but...

Hilda pulled his wrists closer and pressed kisses to the palms of his hands.

It was like she sent electricity coursing through him with that. The feeling of his heart racing, his rapid breathing, it was almost overwhelming—!

Hilda lifted a hand to Dimitri's hair as he sort of lost control of himself a little. He pressed kisses all over her face, not caring if he missed her lips or not. One of his hands was holding her just below her ribs, the other was grabbing the underside of her knee to help keep her up.

Dimitri pressed a kiss to Hilda's neck, and his name left her mouth in a breathless whisper.

That was all it took for Dimitri to remember that, hey, they were in a school and his behaviour was completely socially unacceptable. He tried to pull away, an apology already on his lips, but...

"You're... not gonna keep going?" Hilda asked, looking almost disappointed. Her chest was heaving, her hair was a mess, and her clothes were starting to get wrinkled from their actions...

In that moment, Dimitri decided that, selfish or not, it would be a crime to disappoint her.

"I hope, with all my heart, that you don't regret this," he said softly.

"Don't worry. I won't let our memories be sad ones," she answered, right before he pressed their lips together once again.

* * *

It took almost an hour for Hilda and Dimitri to remember that hey, they were in the middle of doing something. Eating. Yeah.

They walked back inside holding hands, blushing, very disheveled, and flustered. Their food had long gotten cold by that point. Lysithea was raking in her winnings. Edelgard was very proud of herself?

This incident singlehandedly made Edelgard one of the most popular people in the school.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i just wanted hilda to hang out with petra and bernadetta and then edelgard said "fuck the romantic tension get the hell together right now"  
i legitimately do not know how that scene escalated so quickly it was supposed to be ONE SHY KISS


	48. Chapter 48

"Teach, we're holding a feast to celebrate Hilda and Dimitri finally getting together and the princess who helped them do it," Claude said. "Is there any way you can fish up like twenty--"

He didn't even get to finish the question before Byleth started throwing fish after fish onto the kitchen counter.

"...do... do you just carry around an entire storehouse of fish at all times?" Claude asked.

Byleth didn't answer, because they started pulling out plants and meat that could be used too.

"Teach, I have so many questions right now."

Byleth shushed him, because Sothis was screaming and flailing and cheering over the foolish mortals finally going along with fate and destiny and being happy together and it was loud and headache-inducing.

Claude was offended, but then Byleth went above and beyond and started organizing the menu for him. Byleth even helped the chef team cook, thereby avoiding all of his questions.

* * *

Meanwhile, there were teams meant to keep Edelgard and the new couple away from the dining hall until everything was ready.

Unfortunately, Raphael was on the team to keep Edelgard busy, which meant that Hubert was confused and baffled by Raphael being kind and jovial with Edelgard. He and Ignatz had dragged her into a conversation about all the fun things merchants could see and do. Hubert's confusion wasn't really important though.

Anyways, the team keeping track of Dimitri and Hilda was just his childhood friends. They were totally spying. Ashe would have loved to also spy, but he was cooking. Ingrid promised to tell him everything after.

The two of them were visiting the greenhouse for flowers and warmth, but the greenhouse keeper had been called to help Byleth with their massive amount of plants.

This meant that they were alone. Together. In an enclosed space.

Dimitri's childhood friends didn't even expect them to start kissing, but they were still surprised and stunned when Dimitri moved.

As far away from Hilda as possible without leaving the building.

"Did you find something cool?" Hilda asked, walking towards Dimitri.

"W-wait, please don't step any closer!" Dimitri yelled.

("DAMMIT DIMITRI WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS.")

"Huh?"

"I... I apologize with all my heart," Dimitri said hurriedly, his face red, "but, I fear that, if we were close enough to touch, I might do something incredibly inappropriate to you."

"...what?"

"I had a disturbing fantasy about k-kissing you yesterday... and I would like to not do anything of the sort in real life!"

"Um, Dimitri? You realize that that actually happened, right?"

"What?!"

"It was really great!" Hilda exclaimed with a giddy smile on her face. "I mean, yeah, you were awkward at first, but then you picked me up and pinned me to the pillar...!"

("Holy shit, Dimitri! You grew up so much! Soon, you'll be just like your big bro Sylvain...!"

"Sylvain no _stop_—"

"Shut up.")

Dimitri began stammering and sweating as Hilda kept approaching him.

"You really worry too much!" Hilda said. "If you decide to do something _'incredibly inappropriate' _like kissing me again... I won't mind at all!"

"Th-that, um, Hilda—!"

"I'm your _girlfriend_, after all."

Dimitri completely overloaded at that. He covered his bright red face with his hands, hunching over in his desperate attempt to hide his embarrassment...

"Sorry, sorry," Hilda said as she patted him on the shoulder in a comforting manner, "that was too much, wasn't it? We can go as slow as you need to, okay? No rush."

She reached up and patted Dimitri on the head, making Dimitri's eyes fly open and shoulders tense.

"...Dimitri?"

"I am so incredibly sorry for my shameful desires—!"

"Dimitri _where are you going—"_

Hilda grabbed Dimitri by the wrist to keep him from outright leaving the greenhouse.

He looked back at her timidly, before diverting his eyes... 

_'Cute,' _Hilda thought, before saying, "you don't have to be so embarrassed! It's not shameful or selfish or anything!"

("Oh, Your Highness..... please just listen to her...")

She offered her hand to Dimitri with a bright smile.

"C'mon, I wanna show you the violets!"

"Is it really alright...?" Dimitri asked.

"Ah, geez, I really don't get why you're so reluctant to reach out for what you want!" Hilda exclaimed. "Who ever said that it wasn't okay?! Who would ever want you to not be happy?!"

Now, Dimitri took this as a slap to the face, except instead of being painful, it was a reminder that the dead never asked him to wallow in regret and pain forever. In fact, he knew on some level that there were many who would want him to be happy, but he was too guilt-ridden to accept this most of the time.

But Hilda was thinking something more along the lines of _'you're not even worried because it's improper or anything! You just seem to not accept that you can receive affection, and I refuse to let this go on!'_

He carefully took her hand. Hilda smiled as she intertwined their fingers, before pulling him over to the violets.

("THANK THE GODDESS FOR HILDA!"

"Shut up.")

Staring at the flowers, Dimitri couldn't help but remember another moment they had spent together in the greenhouse...

It was then that he got an idea. 

"Hilda."

Before his courage could fail him, he knelt down and plucked a violet from the dirt. Standing back up, Dimitri brushed her hair behind her ear with his fingers and placed the flower there as well.

"You... said you liked flowers over weapons as a gift, right?" he asked.

And Hilda was silent.

Just as he was about to ask if he picked a flower she hated or something, Hilda hugged him. Dimitri froze awkwardly.

"Geez, you're such a sweetheart! What am I supposed to do when you're this cute?!" Hilda demanded. 

"H-Hilda?!"

"Seriously, you're the cutest! The best!"

Dimitri couldn't really handle this sort of thing at all? He was already blushing...

"Ah, Dimitri! Lean down a bit, please!" Hilda asked excitedly as she pulled away.

Feeling a bit saddened by her letting go, Dimitri did just as she asked.

And then she lightly tugged on his hair, pulling his head down enough for her to kiss his cheek.

"Thanks for the flower, Dimitri!" Hilda exclaimed, as Dimitri started emotionally melting in her hands.

"I... I'm glad that you a-appreciate it," Dimitri said quietly.

("Ingrid, are you... crying?"

"Yes! I am!"

"What a pain...")

* * *

And then the new couple and Edelgard were ushered into the dining hall.

Hilda was torn between bursting into laughter or screaming at how dramatic Claude was. Dimitri didn't even register that it was a feast for them. He was just wondering if he forgot a holiday. Edelgard was in a similar mindset, until Claude outright told them what the feast was for.

"M...me?" Edelgard asked.

Claude nodded, saying, "Princess, everyone was waiting for this. You are literally the school's saviour."

The cheers of the other students and Manuela and Sothis backed him up.

"Hold on, why would you go so far f-for... this?!" Dimitri demanded, as Hilda was repressing giggles behind him.

"What are you talking about, Your Highness, everyone was cheering you two on! We're sharing in your happiness!"

More cheers rung out, but one in particular reached Dimitri's ears.

"I'm sure the late king would be delighted to see this..."

He couldn't identify who had said that, but...

Dimitri looked over his shoulder at Hilda, who shot him a smile.

Somehow, his chest felt a bit lighter as they went to eat with everyone.


	49. Chapter 49

"So, why is Teach's hair green now?" Claude asked as Byleth ate with Ashe and Felix a table away.

"It's a very long story," Edelgard answered. 

"No worries, I love the sound of your voice."

Edelgard flushed as Claude winked, before stammering through the start of the story.

It really _was_ long. So long that Hilda drifted off around the time Solon died and just leaned on Dimitri's shoulder. That meant that Dimitri wasn't paying attention either.

And then Hilda snapped to attention, suddenly blurting out, "if you two got married you could rule most of Fódlan." 

"...what?"

"Claude and Edelgard. If you got married. That's like, two-thirds of Fódlan," Hilda said. 

"I... what?" Edelgard said, still baffled by Hilda's words.

"I think it's a little more than that," Claude added, internally cursing himself for not thinking of something like this sooner.

"Oh?" Dimitri said. "Are you another possible heir to the Kingdom's throne?"

"Only if everyone else in line is dead, which isn't going to happen," Claude said casually. "I'd rather leave the Kingdom to you, really."

"If we were to get married, and Dimitri were to remain our ally..." Edelgard muttered under her breath.

"And if you had kids that married Dimitri's kids, you could basically mash up all the countries anyways," Hilda noted.

"...Hilda, I think you just came up with a three step plan for world peace," Claude said.

"What?" Hilda asked.

"Step 1: Edelgard and I get hitched and rule over like three different countries. We're still friends with you and Dimitri. Step 2: Babies. Step 3: The babies also get hitched when they're old enough," Claude said, before staring at his fingers for a second, "Step 4: World peace."

"That's four steps," Hilda pointed out.

"Step four is a stealth attack. There's no way I would just straight up tell anyone how my plans are configured so easily."

"You just miscounted how many steps there were, didn't you?"

As Hilda and Claude playfully bickered, they kind of didn't notice Edelgard and Dimitri sinking into darker thoughts...

_'Another nightmare... I was naive to think I could be so selfish...' _Dimitri thought, before wondering... _'Then, would they be happier if I got revenge and tried to be happy...?'_

_'My path will most likely bring me into conflict with the Kingdom, just as Claude said. In the end, if I cannot persuade them to see my view, then nostalgia or not, I will have to strike them down, won't I?'_

"I cannot believe you call yourself a schemer when you cant even count how many steps there are in your plan!"

"Ouch... I can feel my heart shattering.... Princess, comfort me, would you?" Claude asked, dramatically draping himself over Edelgard's shoulders. His voice managed to pull her out of her own headspace. Edelgard felt herself smile as she patted Claude's back.

Hilda hugged Dimitri's arm and stuck out her tongue at Claude. Dimitri couldn't help but feel more anchored to the present by her touch.

And then Edelgard's eyes widened at a sudden whisper in her ear.

She looked over to Claude, who smiled innocently. 

He could practically see the gears in her head spinning frantically.

Not that he could blame her, really. Learning that she honestly could have three nations in her hand with him must have been a massive game changer.

But, would it be enough to dissuade her...?

(_'Too optimistic,' _Edelgard decided, some of Claude's words during their wyvern ride coming to her mind.

_"If you don't want the Kingdom to be your enemy, you can either convince them to stand against the Church or point their swords at the pains in your neck... it's obvious which one is easier, isn't it?"_

Though, Claude only said that in an attempt to prepare a failsafe if she couldn't be convinced not to go to war, those very words convinced her to keep going with her original plans...)


	50. Chapter 50

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Notes for the Chapter:**

> i forget if hildas birthday is on a weekend pretimeskip. whoopsies

Of course the start of a new month meant the start of new schemes.

_'I think I got a lead in one book, but I can't exactly figure out what it means... maybe I could ask Linhardt if he knows anything about the subject. Then, Mercedes, Marianne, and Ignatz, since they know the church's teachings more intimately than I do...' _Claude thought. _'If I can get Hilda to make flower crowns or something with Edelgard and Dimitri, then it would be a perfectly productive day.'_

Since it was Hilda's birthday in two days, he obviously planned to find a way to get her to win over Edelgard and Dimitri even more...

And then he ran into Hilda, who was holding a letter.

"Claude! I need to go and help my brother!" Hilda said desperately.

_'FUCK.'_

* * *

"Come back safely," Dimitri said, waving goodbye to the Golden Deer with the rest of the Blue Lions and the Black Eagles.

"Of course we will!" Hilda exclaimed.

"Eradicate the enemy and set their cities aflame," Edelgard said, before Claude's stunned expression made her follow up with, "what? It was an attempt to rally your spirits."

At Claude's continued staring, Edelgard remembered that he was actually going to subdue his own countrymen. Whoops.

"Princess, please just... I don't know, try something more like a kiss on the cheek? Please?"

"W-what!?"

"Hilda, you agree that kisses on the cheek are a very good goodbye, right?" Claude asked.

And then he saw that Dimitri was completely red and on the verge of melting, even though Hilda was just holding his hand.

"...never mind."

Hilda was confused, before going back to what she was doing, which was putting a palm-sized box in Dimitri's palm.

"Hilda...?"

"It's a birthday gift!" Hilda exclaimed happily.

"But it's going to be your birthday?" Dimitri asked.

Hilda laughed shyly, averting her eyes.

"I just sort of had you on my mind, so... I got you something!" her voice ventured back into excitement at the end, even though she was clearly blushing. "Hope it makes you happy!"

And Dimitri wanted to say that it was too much, that she had already given him enough happiness, but...

"Well, we'll be back soon! Don't miss me too much!" Hilda said with a wink.

And then he missed his chance to return the gift.

* * *

"Huh, the table feels a bit empty without the Golden Deer," Ashe noted at lunchtime. Edelgard had excused herself earlier, saying something about contacting her uncle.

"It'll only be a few days," Ingrid reassured him. 

"Oh, but this means we miss Hilda's birthday... maybe we should bake a cake for when they return, so it's one big party?"

"That's a great idea!" Sylvain exclaimed. "Of course, we'd have to leave some time for His Highness to be alone with his girlfriend..."

"...speaking of, where is he?" Ingrid asked.

"He went off to train around the time the Deer left," Felix stated.

"...wasn't that... four hours ago?" Ashe asked.

They realized in horror that Hilda being absent meant that no one was there to keep Dimitri from overworking himself.

And Dimitri, well, he had never been too good at knowing when to rest in the first place, but for Hilda to be gone after he had gotten used to her arrival signalling the end of his workout...

Thankfully, Jeralt was there to ask what the hell Dimitri was still doing in the training grounds.

Dimitri immediately apologized, before rushing off.

He felt a bit lightheaded, so he decided to gradually cool down with a walk around school grounds instead of sitting down and eating.

A walk was relaxing enough, so once that was done, he grabbed some food and went to study.

A perfectly productive day, if one that ended with him not speaking to anyone much.

* * *

Dimitri woke with a start.

He was in his bedroom, in Garreg Mach, breathing heavily.

Nightmare. Again.

He lit a candle. He knew it was pointless to try and get more sleep after that.

In the candlelight, he noticed the box he left on his desk. Hilda's gift.

Dimitri hadn't opened it, feeling that he didn't deserve it. But, he was a bit curious...

Pushing away the images of dead bodies and disgusted faces, Dimitri opened it.

The first thing he noticed was a letter covering the contents. When he removed the letter, he found that the box contained a slab of clay.

Confused, Dimitri opened the letter.

_'Dear Dimitri, _

_I know it's a weird gift, but, well, you can't really break it, right? Maybe if you practice controlling your strength with this, you'll be able to do finer work like, I dunno, painting or embroidery or whatever. Whatever you want, really!_

_I got it for you so you could relax. Just playing with it could help calm your nerves. And you always seem so dutiful! You live enough of your life for other people's sakes, so take the time to relax and take care of yourself!_

_You don't have to accept it if you don't want to. I understand how annoying it is when someone hovers over you and worries about you too much, so feel free to just throw it out if you hate it._

_Hilda'_

Dimitri slowly took the clay out of its container, wondering what he did to deserve someone who cared for him this much. It was a bit cool to the touch and left his fingers feeling strange...

After a while, he took to just toying with the clay. It gave his hands something to do as he wondered just what he could do to repay her, if only a little. 

It would be her birthday, but they couldn't celebrate it together. What would Hilda want...?

Dimitri's attention came back to his hands. At the sight of the clay in his palms, he got an idea.

* * *

His idea blew up in his face, because, well. Of course it did.

Dimitri knew that you had to bake clay in order for it to become solid, but...

Apparently, he had let the oven become too hot... his attempt at a gift crumbled away to ash in his hands.

Thankfully, he hadn't used all of the clay, so he managed another attempt at a lower heat. That one managed to come out rather well, until he accidentally broke it.

His friends were cheering him on, though.

With, uh, lots of glue, they managed to stick his creation back together, then paint it to cover up the cracks. Remembering something, Dimitri took care to dip the ends in a different-coloured dye, making the centre a different colour than the petals around it.

Bernadetta helped with the fine details, while Dedue helped him with the wirework. Sylvain picked out the form with his expertise in women's jewellery. 

Dimitri didn't feel quite right _only_ giving Hilda such an amateur creation, so...

Mercedes, Annette, and Ashe helped him bake some sweets without burning the kitchen down. Edelgard helped him gather some flowers she would like. Ingrid and Felix went along with him as he went to get her a new axe. Linhardt was being supportive and also being asleep, Caspar was being supportive and also being loud, Petra told him about hot chocolate, and Dorothea bluntly told him to kiss her.

(Dimitri didn't go to Hubert for help. Hubert did not seem like he could help with this. Hubert was more the type to ask if one needed to hide a body.)

So, basically, the return of the Golden Deer went a little like this:

Everyone returned to their friends.

Hilda and Claude were chatting at a leisurely pace, even though Hilda was talking anxiously and Claude was shaken by her words.

"I mean, it _has a pulse_," Hilda said, adding emphasis with her hand motions. "It's so creepy-looking, too! Why does that axe look like it's _made of bones?!"_

"Holy shit, it might be made of bones. The Relics might be made of bones," Claude said flatly.

"They sure _look_ like they are!" Hilda exclaimed. "Why did my brother want me to take it?!"

As Claude's mind was rattled by the idea, the two of them went back to their dorm rooms.

And then they both froze.

There was a massive pile of stuff in the middle of the hallway. All around one door.

"I can't even get back into my room," Felix told Dimitri a bit further into the hallway. "Why are you so excessive? How is this necessary?"

_"Maybe_ it wouldn't have gotten so crowded if _someone_ didn't suggest an _axe_ as a present," Sylvain said pointedly.

"What? No! Of course the axe was a good idea!" Ingrid exclaimed. "It's still a while until they get here, so maybe we can rearrange it to be easier to traverse..."

She trailed off as she saw Hilda and Claude behind Dimitri's back. Sylvain and Felix quickly noticed what she had seen.

"Argh, of course this was a bad idea..." Dimitri said softly.

"Um, Your Highness."

"I'll throw it all out before they get back. I apologize for inconveniencing all of you."

"Dude? Your Highness?"

"She's right there," Felix stated, right before Hilda ran over.

"You did all this for _me?!_" Hilda demanded in shock.

"H-Hilda?!"

"Gosh, what did I ever do to deserve someone as cute as you?!" Hilda exclaimed as she hugged Dimitri.

Claude burst into laughter, before Hilda decided to move some of the gifts into her room.

Most of them, however, were going to be shared, since, well.

"No offence, Dimitri, I appreciate the effort and intent and all, but just one bouquet is fine," she told him as she gave the other four to Byleth. Byleth immediately started dividing the bouquets into individual flower types and putting them away. Somewhere.

She divided half the sweets amongst her friends, because, again, she appreciated him baking for her, but there was way too many. And besides, it made her happy to see her friends enjoying it.

No one really objected to her dragging Dimitri into her room after she figured out how much she would keep for herself. They just kind of dispersed to give them some privacy.

Dimitri was seated on Hilda's desk chair as she put the flowers in a vase and set it on her desk. She couldn't figure out where to put the axe, so she just sort of left it by the door and hoped it wouldn't damage her floor if it fell over. Then, she sat on her bed with the other two gifts she had brought in with her

"Did you make these?!" Hilda asked after opening one box, revealing a set of sweet buns.

"I had the assistance of others in my house," Dimitri said. "The reason those treats are edible is surely thanks to them."

"You're way too humble, Dimitri," Hilda replied. "You really worked hard to make these, so thanks!"

Before Dimitri could say she was putting too much stock in his abilities, she took a sweet bun and held it up to his face.

"Try it out for yourself, Dimitri!" Hilda huffed. "I'm sure you'll like it!"

"W-wait, I can feed myself--!"

"Nope, this is your punishment for not admitting your skill!" Hilda said with a wink.

Embarrassed, Dimitri let her feed him the bun.

Dimitri hadn't recovered enough to give an actual rating of his baking by the time Hilda tried one herself.

"Mmmm...! It's good!" Hilda exclaimed happily. "It's not too sugary and it's nice and chewy...."

Dimitri decided not to mention that he accidentally spilled the sugar. And dropped too much flour into the bowl after a question about the two of them. 

When the two of them finished the sweets, Hilda licked the icing off of her fingers. Dimitri absolutely wasn't staring at the motion, nor was he thinking of how she had fed him with that same hand, her fingers brushing against his lips...

With a happy smile, she wiped her hands with a handkerchief and reached for the last box.

Dimitri's eyes widened when he recognized which one that was. He thought he had removed that one...!

"Wait, you... that one... you shouldn't open it," Dimitri said.

"How come?"

"It's... really not well-made," Dimitri admitted. "It wouldn't really serve much use except as a decoration, but... I don't think its appearance is suited for that purpose either."

"Did you make it?" Hilda asked.

"I did, though, unlike the buns, the strengths of others weren't enough to cover up my own failings..."

"Dimitri," Hilda said. "You're too serious about this."

She shot him with a beaming smile, and Dimitri couldn't protest.

"Of course I'm going to appreciate something you made just for me," Hilda stated as she started to lift the lid. "I mean, you put so much effort into it!"

She opened the box fully, revealing a hardened clay sculpture on a pin. There were small threaded stars hanging from the flower-shaped sculpture. 

"It was meant to be a hairpin, but... it's too unwieldy to ever be worn properly," Dimitri said. "And, while the stars and pin itself are fine, the flower..."

It was lopsided, simple, and the painting wasn't evenly-coated. 

"I love it," Hilda said.

"...pardon?" 

"I mean, if you want to make me another one, I won't ever object, but...! Dimitri, I didn't even need anything from you in the first place!" Hilda exclaimed. "I was going to be happy if we just hung out on my birthday (and maybe kissed), but then you did your absolute best and gave me all these thoughtful gifts...!"

Setting the hairpin down on her bed, Hilda stood up and hugged Dimitri. He suddenly sat up straight in her chair, his heart racing.

"Thank you," she said sincerely, leaning over her chin on his shoulder.

Dimitri felt his head go blank. He struggled to recapture his train of thought, but all his mind wanted to focus on was her warmth...

Slowly, he raised his hand. For a second, he hesitated, before he placed his hand on her back.

_'This much is fine, right...?' _he wondered. Really, he wanted more, but if he tried, his heart would probably explode. Or he'd die of shame. Whichever one came first.

Hilda pulled away, and Dimitri tried not to feel too saddened by that. 

But, Hilda paused, her face right before his. Dimitri couldn't help but feel a bit ensnared... If... if he moved forward, then--

"You didn't sleep well last night, did you?" Hilda asked, snapping him out of his trance.

"I... it's fine," Dimitri replied, trying to get his heartbeat back under control.

Hilda hummed in suspicion as she leaned towards him, turning her head to examine his face from another angle.

"If you're fine, won't you do something for me?" Hilda asked with a smile.

"What would that be?" Dimitri asked. 

"I've always dreamed of having a boyfriend rest his head in my lap and fall asleep," Hilda said. "You don't mind helping me live it out, right?"

"..."

"..."

"...i-i-i-if... if that's... w-what you wish..." Dimitri answered. Hilda brightened as she moved the objects on her bed away. She patted her thigh with a wink.

He took off his greaves and boots, unwilling to possibly dirty her bed, even by accident. Then, Dimitri laid down, placing his head on Hilda's lap. She was smiling down at him eagerly...

He really, _really_ wanted to ask her how in the world she thought he'd be able to sleep with his heart racing so badly, but then Hilda asked him if he was comfortable.

"I... I am," Dimitri answered. 

"Oh, so you sleep in gauntlets?" Hilda asked.

Dimitri realized that he had completely forgotten to remove those. He sat up quickly, almost scrambling to pull them off.

"Aww, no more?" Hilda asked teasingly.

"Please forgive me, but I do not think I could _possibly_ go to sleep like that," Dimitri said. "I'm sorry that I couldn't help you achieve your dream."

Hilda laughed.

"Don't worry, I have a ton of dreams you can help with," Hilda said. "If you can't sleep on my lap, then I'll just have to fall asleep in your arms again, okay?"

"Alright," Dimitri answered. 

He opened his arms a bit more smoothly than last time. Hilda gladly hugged him, and the two of them fell back onto the soft bed. She settled into the space by his side, his right arm over her shoulders.

"Thanks for going along with my nonsense, Dimitri!" Hilda said, resting her head on his chest.

"I'm just glad that I could make you happy," Dimitri answered.

"Your heart's beating really fast," Hilda noted. "Does that mean you like it too?"

"...yes. Doing something like this... I'm grateful for this," he told her.

"I'm glad... it'd suck if I was just forcing my wishes on you. Tell me if I ever do that, okay?"

"I promise," Dimitri answered. 

There was a moment of comfortable silence, before Dimitri wondered...

"Hilda. Could I..." 

"Mm?"

"I would like to, er, touch you. Not anywhere inappropriate, but..."

"Go ahead!" Hilda said easily.

Dimitri's left hand came up to pat her head. He was carefully taking in the feel of her hair under his hand, the smile she gave him as he did...

Her eyes fluttered shut.

He moved his hand to cup her face, delighting in the feeling of her skin against his callused fingers, her warmth, and--

His thumb went a bit too far, and skimmed across her lips. 

"You know, a kiss would be fine too," Hilda said, her eyes still closed. Dimitri jolted at the sound, making her laugh. "Just saying!"

And Dimitri decided...

"Please don't mind me, then," Dimitri replied, moving his hand to her chin. He tilted her face towards him before kissing her.

* * *

After they woke up from their little nap, as Dimitri was lacing up his gauntlets to leave, a certain question fell from his lips.

"You... said you had dreams of having a lover, right?" Dimitri asked. "Am I... living up to your standards?"

"To be honest, if someone told me a year ago that I'd wind up dating you, I would tell them to stop lying and that I would have realistic standards."

"Is that a good thing?" Dimitri asked.

"Yeah," Hilda said with a smile. "It means that you're really too good to be true."

"O-oh," Dimitri said.

Hilda giggled, before pressing a kiss to his cheek.

"Have good dreams tonight."

"I think I will," Dimitri answered, returning her grin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter plan involved ignatz helping dimitri not set the kitchen on fire until i realized that ignatz wouldn't actually be there, so...


	51. Chapter 51

"Princess? Where are you?!" Claude called out, trying to stay calm. 

"What is with your incessant shouting..." Hubert grumbled.

"Hubert! Where is she?" Claude asked.

"Lady Edelgard?"

"Yeah, who else?"

"She's out, preparing something very important," Hubert said, and Claude's reaction was _'oh hell no.' _"Now, if you'll excuse me..."

"No, no, no, the second you see her, tell her that she _has_ to talk to me. No preparations, no nothing, no signals, no _anything," _Claude said, punctuating each and every one of his words with a dramatic hand gesture.

"...alright," Hubert said, as Claude continued his search.

Now, Edelgard had just returned from shopping for flowers in town, having seen this exchange from a while away. She hadn't heard anything either of them had said, but she saw Claude's motions.

_'That ridiculous dance...! It's the signal for the attack!' _Edelgard thought.

(Claude given her a set of phoney signals that he never planned on actually using ever, because he _didn't approve of the plan_.) 

_'Just as you wish, Claude...! I'll prepare for the attack now!'_

She ran off in the direction she came from, before Hubert could see her.

* * *

"Byleth! Kid!" 

"Edelgard! Princess!"

The two paused in their search, exchanging a glance.

"Something happen to Teach?" Claude asked, wondering if Jeralt looking for Byleth was related to Edelgard's mysterious absence...

"...I've had a bad feeling for a while now," Jeralt admitted. "The archbishop's been trying to drag them off to the Holy Tomb, so I've been trying to keep them from being with her, but then I had to go on a mission..."

Claude's eyes widened.

"I'll look for them too," Claude declared, "let me help!"

Jeralt didn't actually know anything about what was happening, aside from the fact that Rhea was worrying. But he wouldn't say no to help.

As Claude was going around, searching, his friends decided to help out. 

By the time Claude and Jeralt checked the Holy Tomb itself, just about everyone in the three houses was tagging along with them.

"Byleth!" Jeralt yelled as he charged in, and, uh.

"..."

"Please, just sit on the throne!" Rhea screamed, hanging off of Byleth's leg.

"Um."

Byleth stomped towards their father and the students, dragging the archbishop with every step.

"...what's happening?" Hilda asked bluntly.

Professor Byleth explained how Lady Rhea sort of kind of dragged them into the Holy Tomb the moment Jeralt wasn't around and then tried to convince them to sit on an ominous throne.

However, Jeralt had told them not to do weird things like that. So they refused. And Rhea tried to threaten them. And they refused. And Rhea pulled out a sword. And they still refused, because they were much better at wielding a sword than her.

No matter how Rhea tried to fight, Byleth managed to beat her, until she was reduced to begging.

"That's... kind of sad," Claude said, watching as Byleth shook Rhea off their leg and kept walking.

"Lady Rhea, this behaviour is unbecoming of the archbishop," Dimitri said, kneeling down to help her up. "Please, let us--"

And then Rhea started crying.

This wasn't a situation literally anyone was equipped to deal with, at all.

Eventually she just got a hug from Annette and started sobbing about her tragic backstory and how almost everyone she loved was turned into weapons and how she just wanted everything back. Not many people knew how to handle having their entire view of history and Hero's Relics and Crests turned on its head, except for Annette and Mercedes.

"There, there..." Mercedes said, wiping Rhea's tears with a handkerchief. 

"It's okay," Annette added, rubbing Rhea's back.

Then, Byleth tapped Rhea on the shoulder. They pulled Rhea away from Annette and Mercedes.

"M...Mother..."

"Excuse me for a second, Lady Rhea," Byleth said, before stabbing her with the Creator Sword.

"Teach, what the fuck?!" Claude demanded as Rhea collapsed. Marianne, Mercedes, and Linhardt immediately started to try healing Rhea, but that was hard, because the sword was still in her.

"Professor... what is the meaning of this?!" Dimitri yelled.

"Okay, okay, can we all calm down a second?" Jeralt asked.

"They just stabbed the archbishop!" Lorenz screamed.

"Sothis said she wanted to talk to her," Byleth said simply.

"So you _stabbed her_?!" Claude demanded. "Why?!"

"Sothis is The Beginning. This is the Sword of the Creator. So."

"That's not logic! That isn't even anywhere approaching logic! That's barely a connection!" Claude said, somehow stunned and exasperated all at once.

"S-should... should we strike the professor down for treason...?" Marianne asked quietly, making Jeralt push Byleth behind him.

"Just try it, brats. Even bare-handed, I can beat you all down!"

"Facing Captain Jeralt in battle..." Leonie said softly. "I don't think I can..."

And then Rhea sat up.

"I spoke with my mother," Rhea stated. "She combed through my hair, just as she did in the past, and told me to tell her what had happened since we last saw each other..."

Rhea casually pulled the sword out of her stomach, horrifying Linhardt.

"And then she pinched both my cheeks and yelled at me for being a foolish buffoon idiotic moron."

"Please... you're still bleeding... stop talking..." Linhardt groaned. Caspar patted his back as Linhardt tried not to vomit. Marianne and Mercedes kept healing Rhea as she talked.

"My mother... she told me that she would always be watching over me, and that I must do my part in improving the world that she loved so dearly...!"

"Okay," Jeralt said flatly, because what the fuck was happening.

"That's it! From this day forward, I will be honest with the people!" Rhea declared. "I will make you proud, mother!"

"Yay, good job!" Hilda cheered, right before the walls shook.

"Oh no," Claude said.

Edelgard burst in, wearing her Flame Emperor garb. 

Since she prepared on such short notice, she didn't have time to get the Imperial army around, so she just gathered up as many of the snake jerks as she could. And the Death Knight.

"Retrieve every last Crest Stone!" Edelgard ordered. 

"What?!" Rhea demanded. "No! Don't you dare!"

"Wait wait wait wait," Hilda said quickly, and Edelgard actually stopped. "Who are you?"

"Uh."

"Do you know these guys?" Hilda asked the others. Dimitri outright shrugged.

"Um... I think that... _might_ be the Flame Emperor?" Caspar said. "I dunno. It's been a while. Couple months."

"How have you forgotten such a distinct masked figure?" Petra asked bluntly.

"I mean, they _do_ have a different helmet from last time..." Dorothea noted.

"The Flame Emperor?!" Dimitri said.

"Hey. Hey, Dimitri. Calm down a bit," Hilda urged him. "I won't let you just rush in and maybe get yourself hurt!"

"Ah, yes, forgive me. I'll do my best to be careful," Dimitri said sheepishly. "But I won't stop until I have my answers."

"Excuse me. Could you possibly turn your attention towards the insolent traitors defiling my brethren's tomb?" Rhea demanded irritably.

"Oh, right," Claude said loudly. "Because the **HERO'S RELICS ARE MADE FROM BONES** and the **CRESTS ARE ACTUAL FUCKING BLOOD**."

"Why are you yelling?" Ignatz asked.

"Sorry. I'm bad with volume control," Claude answered, trying to see if Edelgard had heard him. 

She didn't, because she was busy having a conversation with the Death Knight.

"Death Knight, make sure none of the students interfere!"

"...you don't want me to kill them?"

"No! Just make sure they don't do anything!"

"...Don't you think I could... at least defeat them? If not the students, then the professor?"

"No."

So he went and stood near the students, ominously.

"Would you like some sweets?" Mercedes asked the gigantic murder knight in black spiked armour with a skull mask.

"...yes please."

"Don't eat sweets with the enemy!" Rhea screamed, as Byleth took some and offered one to their dad.

"Yes, we should defend the Holy Tomb," Dimitri declared.

"Okay, Lysithea?" Claude asked.

"On it."

And then the Death Knight was out of commission.

Byleth handed weapons to everyone who needed them, while they went to stop the blatant theft of a bunch of Crest Stones. Jeralt helped out too, but there wasn't much for him to do except keep Rhea from going absolutely ballistic. And also maybe turning into a dragon.

Dorothea backed up Leonie with magic, Linhardt and Ignatz shot people down with magic and arrows, Caspar and Sylvain were fighting side-by-side, Lorenz and Ferdinand somehow both got on their horses in the Holy Tomb, Felix kept people from striking Ashe down while Ashe shot others down from afar, Ingrid and Marianne somehow also got on their horses and were striking people down, Raphael was defending Hubert, Annette and Lysithea cast magic together, and Dedue and Mercedes were defending Rhea.

While their classmates were utterly decimating the forces of the knife stabby people, Claude, Hilda, and Dimitri had went straight for the Flame Emperor. Working together, no one could even hope to touch the three of them...! Their path forward was ridiculously easy...!

_'This has all gone to hell, but please, let my backup plan work...!' _Claude hoped as a swing of a weapon brought Edelgard's mask falling off...!

* * *

**...**

**......**

**.........**

_"How good are you at acting, Edelgard?" Claude asked her atop the back of a wyvern._

_Edelgard's eyes widened at the sound of a question he had asked her before._

_"What do you mean?"_

_"If you don't want the Kingdom to be your enemy, you can either convince them to stand against the Church or point their swords at the pains in your neck... it's obvious which one is easier, isn't it?"_

_Edelgard paused to consider his words, nodding against his back._

_"It'd be ideal if you could strike down the Church with one good attack, then get everyone to fight those snakes, but you'd have to admit your affiliation eventually," Claude said, "if you were being honest."_

_"Are you suggesting... **lying**?"_

* * *

"Is.... is this some sort of twisted joke?!" Dimitri demanded furiously, glaring at Edelgard's figure.

She was hunched over, her hair covering her face. Her axe was loose in her grip, and she made no obvious indications of movement.

"Edelgard. Answer me! Is it true that you are the Flame Emperor?!" 

And Edelgard's answer...

"Kill... kill those who oppose us... destroy..."

"Edelgard! Are you mocking us?!"

"Wait, no!" Hilda exclaimed, grabbing Dimitri's wrist before he could do something crazy like throw his spear. Dimitri didn't shake away her hand. "Edelgard's not acting right!"

Claude let out a sigh of relief. Hilda was crazy perceptive, so if she was fooled by Edelgard's act...

"I will bring... salvation..."

"Oh no, I think she's been brainwashed!" Claude exclaimed quickly. "By the knife stabby people! They must have tried to use her as a scapegoat for their crimes by brainwashing her!"

"Is that so...!?"

"Whaaaat?!"

"Edelgard! How do we save her...?!" Dimitri wondered, terror in his eyes. 

Hilda paused, before looking at Claude. Claude stared back, wondering what the girl was thinking.

And then she picked Claude up and threw him at Edelgard.

Claude screamed.

He knocked Edelgard over, his body sprawled over hers, his lips accidentally capturing hers as he tried to get up.

"Yes! The kiss of true love always fixes things in love stories!" Hilda cheered.

"Does... that count?" Dimitri wondered as Claude basically rolled off.

"My mind... it's cleared!" Edelgard declared loudly. 

"...ah. Seems like it did," Dimitri said flatly.

* * *

"I joined their forces with the intention of betraying them," Edelgard explained to her friends afterwards, "however, I became too unruly, and they placed me under a brainwashing spell."

That was a very blatant lie, by the way.

"Well, the archbishop's already promised to make some serious reforms," Claude noted, gesturing to Rhea. She had been smiling in relief, glad that none of the Crest Stones were stolen. "She's gonna need an emperor to keep an eye on her and make sure she keeps her word."

Edelgard smiled.

"My friends, will you help me defeat the last faction manipulating Fódlan from the shadows?"

"Geez, did you even have to ask?" Hilda answered.

"We would do so gladly," Dimitri declared.

"You will have the church's support," Rhea promised.

Byleth and Jeralt smiled at the unison they displayed, feeling happy that such a cooperative conclusion could be reached.


	52. Chapter 52

Well, anyways, the Knife Stabby People got beaten up really quick, because like, they were up against the Alliance, the Empire, the Kingdom, the Church, Almyra, Brigid, and probably some other places too. 

It was very hard not to get your ass kicked when you had that many people to fight, javelins of light or no.

No, seriously, a knitting needle was more dangerous than the Knife Stabby People. Dimitri lost his eye in a tragic and unfortunate knitting accident.

They managed to get the war (or, as it was more informally, yet also more accurately, referred to as, _'the one-sided ass-kicking'_) over and done with in two and a half years. Three if you were being generous.

When they had pretty much absolutely destroyed those guys, the students went back to graduate from school and go on with their lives. 

The continent was shocked when Rhea declared how the Crest story was fake and everyone was freaking out over blood transplants. Many people tried to resist the changes. Those people were silenced by the diplomatic power of the Emperor-Duchess-Queen Edelgard and the Emperor Consort-Duke-King Claude and a dragon. 

(Yes, it was completely unnecessary for one couple to be in charge of like most of Fódlan, so to make things easier on themselves and spare themselves the pain of having three different titles, they let one of Claude's relatives rule Almyra, left the Alliance alone, and went to rule the Empire together. They had obviously not placed puppet rulers in charge of everywhere else. That would be irresponsible and rude and mean. Obviously. Hahaha.)

So the Crest system was going away, something Mercedes delighted in as she started up a bakery with her mother in the Kingdom. Sylvain was also happy as he left his family, running away to become a knight with both middle fingers raised. Marianne was able to lift her head proudly.

For the actual Crests themselves, Linhardt and Hanneman managed to find out how to remove Crests and give everyone Crests respectively. Lysithea and Edelgard were so happy with that. Within two years, Crests became less of an end-all, be-all, and more just another cute way of personal expression, like hair dye and jewellery.

This change was almost entirely because of Hilda, by the way.

To set the scene, everyone was meeting again at Garreg Mach for the five year anniversary, having fun, eating good food, drinking good drinks, and catching up on what they had missed out on of each other. 

Lysithea and Annette were considering becoming a baker and instructor at the Officer's Academy respectively, delighting a knight-in-training Cyril, though he would never admit it.

Raphael managed to pull Hubert into a drinking game, which made Hubert drunk enough to admit that he appreciated muscles, but that wasn't important.

Mercedes offered an invitation to everyone to visit her bakery, something Dedue promised he would at the soonest opportunity.

Sylvain and Felix were stunned by how tall their cute short crushes had gotten all of a sudden. Ashe didn't get it, while Caspar fumed at how he was still shorter.

Dorothea managed to chat Leonie up over drinks.

Bernadetta and Petra were making plans for hunting season.

Linhardt did his best to stay awake through Ignatz's excited tales of his travels, because that happiness was important to him.

Ingrid and Marianne had already made plans to ride together again, after a visit to Judith led Ingrid to reunite with Marianne once again. 

The tea buddies were happy to catch up over tea. 

Claude was laughing and telling the others of how, gasp, while he was flying to Garreg Mach with Edelgard, he spotted the most scandalous thing. Edelgard sighed as Claude dramatically told everyone that Professor Byleth had been _holding hands_ with the gatekeeper. Jeralt spat out his alcohol at Alois and went to grab a weapon.

And, away from the chatter, watching the stars, was...

"Hey there," Hilda said, smiling as she approached the caped man.

"Hilda," Dimitri said, turning back to face her with a slight smile. "It's good to see you again."

"Same to you, Your Majesty~!" she said as she stepped next to him on the balcony.

The twinge of disappointment that flitted through Dimitri's expression wasn't lost on Hilda.

"Ahaha, I wanted to celebrate your coronation, but it's really weird to not call you Dimitri, huh..." she said softly. "But, anyways, it's been too long since we last exchanged letters!"

"I agree. How have you been since your last letter?"

Hilda laughed, eagerly going sharing a story about a trip to the market gone wary. 

"And then the chickens escaped and flew all over the place! It was a huge mess!" Hilda exclaimed.

Her eyes caught a fond smile on Dimitri's lips and quieted down a bit. She scolded herself for dragging up old memories.

"Somehow, it's kinda like we're different, but sort of the same," Hilda noted. 

Before Dimitri could ask what she meant, she smiled and lifted her hand to the top of her head.

"I mean, you're even taller now!" she exclaimed, moving her hand toward's Dimitri. "Look! I don't even reach your shoulders..."

She trailed off, suddenly feeling self-conscious.

There was a sudden moment of silence...

"I think that you've grown lovelier," Dimitri said.

"...thanks, Dimitri," Hilda said, turning her eyes back towards the stars. "It really does bring back memories. We had fun chatting, trusting each other, and..."

"..."

"..."

They never did end up breaking off their relationship, but as the war grew more intense, more important things came up. When it ended, Dimitri had to be in Faerghus as prince and then king. Hilda had returned home.

If Hilda never ran into Ingrid visiting Marianne, she might have never had the courage to send Dimitri the first letter on her own. But they still didn't address whatever they had or used to have...

"Are you cold?" Dimitri asked. "I could give you my cape."

"Ever the gentleman, huh?" Hilda replied with a grin. "Let me guess, _'the cold is nothing compared to back home'_ or something?"

"I'm impressed by your memory," Dimitri said as he wrapped his cape around her shoulders.

"Hey, doesn't that mean that you remember it too?" Hilda asked casually.

"...I do," Dimitri answered. "I've done my best to commit every moment I spent with you to memory."

Hilda's eyes widened. Her back straightened out a bit as she looked at him and said, "Dimitri?"

Dimitri didn't reply immediately, instead turning his gaze towards the stars.

"The time before I came to the Officer's Academy feels like a dream, or some sort of hell," he said. "I was trapped by my own regrets, guilt and hatred... I had nightmares of those who died, night after night, asking why I hadn't avenged them, why I had survived... but, even though I struck down those who caused their suffering alongside everyone else, I still hear their voices. I am certain I will hear their voices until the day I die."

And he gave her a smile.

"But I know now that they would never want me to wallow in regret forever. For them, and for the future of Fódlan, I will create a world where none will ever suffer such unjust suffering."

"Dimitri... I'm so happy for you," Hilda said earnestly. "I'll be cheering for you no matter what, okay?"

"Hilda."

His tone made her stare up at his face. She met his gaze.

"Yeah?"

"I... was actually hoping for you to take this," Dimitri told her, before retrieving a ring from his pocket. The gemstone was the same colour as her eyes.

"...D-Dimitri?!"

"Even if I was no one of importance to you... from the moment I met you, from the moment I opened my heart to you, I had been in heaven," Dimitri declared. "When your letter reminded me that we would see each other in person here, after so long... I was anxiously, eagerly awaiting the day. So much so that I couldn't think of a single thing to say in response."

Hilda couldn't believe it...

"I did everything to relax. I sculpted a few different flowers, attempted to knit a scarf, went on a walk, but nothing could pull my mind away from thoughts of you. When I passed by this ring in the jewellery store window, I... couldn't help wondering if you'd would accept it."

"You're... proposing to me?" Hilda asked.

"I am," Dimitri answered. 

Hilda just... stared at the ring for a very, very long time. Then, she started to laugh.

Dimitri's eye filled with fear, but before he could apologize and excuse himself, Hilda took something out of her own pocket.

"What a coincidence," Hilda said, winking as she held a silver ring between her fingers, "I thought the same thing."

"...!"

"Well, I was actually just going to throw it into the lake," Hilda confessed. "I mean, I was flipping through shopping catalogues, when I noticed that one was weird. It was a catalogue of Crest Stone designs you could buy, like it was some sort of tattoo! I know my own Crest by heart, but then I found yours... and I engraved a ring I had with a fusion of ours. It was so embarrassing, I almost threw it out the window!"

"But you kept it?" Dimitri asked.

"Yeah," Hilda admitted. "I was going to talk to you, then throw the ring in the lake so you could forget about me. I could forget my feelings, you could marry someone else, it was all going to be so simple! But then you proposed to me!"

"I... see. It seems that we're both proposing to each other, then," Dimitri said, his heart filling with relief.

"Well, I'll accept this trade, on one condition," Hilda told him. 

"What is it?"

"If I want to love and support you for the rest of our lives... you can't stop me, okay? And you have to join me on all my breaks!" Hilda exclaimed, belatedly realizing that those were two conditions. 

Dimitri gave her a smile.

"Very well, then. Shall we exchange them?" Dimitri asked, offering his ring to her. 

Hilda swapped them happily.

"Hey, since we're a couple again, you don't mind sharing this cape with me, right?" Hilda asked, opening a slight gap between the cape's ends.

"Not at all," Dimitri replied.

She hugged him, pressing her ear to his chest as he wrapped his arms around her.

"Geez... all I wanted was to be lazy and aimless forever, you know? I never would have agreed to be a queen before!" Hilda exclaimed. "The workload would have killed me!"

Hilda laughed.

"This is all your fault, Dimitri," she said lovingly. "You kept telling me that I was better than that, that I wouldn't disappoint anyone, and I... I started wanting to become the person you saw in me. Accept responsibility for making me fall in love with you, okay?"

"Of course," Dimitri told her. "As long as you are beside me."

And then...

"Oh thank Teach's little head gremlin!"

"Claude!" Ingrid's voice yelled.

"What! We've been waiting for this for so long!"

"He's got a point," Ashe admitted.

"...did... did you just refer to the Goddess as a little head gremlin?" Edelgard asked.

Hilda burst into laughter. 

"How long have you all been watching?!" Dimitri demanded.

"Oh, Your Royal Majesty, won't you forget such trivial details and join us for celebratory drinks? The feast won't last forever!" Claude exclaimed.

"N-no, take as long as you want! Need!" Ingrid screamed. "We will _all_ give you some privacy! Let's go!"

She corralled the others away. Ashe told Hilda and Dimitri to not stay out too long, lest they get cold, only for Edelgard to nudge him into staying quiet.

"We should probably rejoin them," Dimitri said as Hilda started to calm down. "At the moment, I'm so happy that I fear that I would lose track of time..."

"Okay, as long as you keep me warm," Hilda told him, snuggly wrapping one side of the cape around her. "Ah, Faerghus is gonna be so cold... gonna take some getting used to."

Then she remembered something, and she went pale for reasons that had nothing to do with the cold.

"...Hilda?" Dimitri asked, concerned.

"I never told my brother about you," she said softly. "How are we going to explain this to Holst."


	53. Bonus: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> this is the original planned ending to the story

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _You took my hand – Helping me stand _   
_Asking me with a smile if I was alright _   
_And that was it – I was love sick _   
_The way that you looked at me _   
[ _I could die happily_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oq_4hj9RrGg&app=desktop)

They met again, after so many years, not at school, but on a battlefield.

Even after five years, he recognized her. From the way she held her axe, her voice, her running gait...

The moment he did, he came to a stop. 

The carnage around them didn't matter. The fighting around them didn't matter. 

She was standing before him, the same smile as always on her face.

"Fancy seeing you here, huh, Dimitri?" Hilda asked, acting as casual as she did when they were just walking the halls together.

"Hilda..."

"Hey, don't give me that! These things happen in war."

"I can't strike you down!" Dimitri screamed. "Your voice... it was what kept me from losing myself, all these years..."

His grip tightened on his lance, and Hilda's eyes widened at the sight of a hastily-beaded bracelet hanging from his wrist.

"Is it really my fate to be facing you in this fight? Can't I persuade you to join me?"

Hilda was silent.

For a moment, Dimitri had hope. A desperate, frantic hope that, at the very least, he could spare her...

"I can't betray my nation," Hilda said. "I can't betray my family, my brother, Claude..."

She lifted her weapon.

"I'm sorry, Dimitri. Please... just forget that promise you made me, and give it your all!"

* * *

The bracelet snapped.

Dimitri's eye was filled with horror as Hilda fell to the ground. He didn't mean to hit her...!

Without thinking, he rushed to her side and cradled her body...

She was still living, just barely, though her blood was staining his armour, the ground, his hands. There was too much of it... she would die any second. Long before any healers could find her.

"I'm so glad... I lost properly this time," Hilda said with a teary smile. "I... did my best... to make sure I didn't betray anyone..."

Her name left his mouth in a broken sob.

"Dimitri... I wish I could have... seen the starry sky with you... one last time..." Hilda told him, tears running down her face. "Hey... can you... show me your smile instead...?"

And Dimitri tried. He tried so hard to give her what she asked for before she...

"I'm sorry. I... am finding it difficult to control my expressions. Is this passable...?"

Hilda let out a weak laugh.

"Yeah. That's the sweet smile I wanted to see... thank you, Dimitri..."

And with a last, shuddering breath, she was gone.

Dimitri kept holding her.

The battle raged around them.

Her blood was losing its warmth.

The battle raged around them.

"I love you. For years, I have loved you," Dimitri said to her ghost. "I'll make this right."

And he laughed.

"I'll bring you the heads of those who forced you to fight!"

He covered her body with his cape and charged into battle, promising bloody vengeance on the enemy.

Something in him had broken down and died with her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _One thousands times – Ten thousand times _   
_I will endure the pain of a breaking heart _   
_But when I’m sad, I’ll always have _   
_This memory so I know there’s hope in tomorrow_
> 
> lol arent u glad i decided not to go with this?


	54. Bonus: Dining Hall Lines + whatever this scene is

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the only difference between pre and post sothis-ing dining hall lines is that pre-sothis just has an undercurrent of screaming that no one but byleth notices  
im not doing pairs that already have lines together in game but also... wiki doesn't have all of them lol so fuck  
TEA BUDDIES HAVE A LINE TOGETHER IM NOT BEING MEAN TO THEM OK

** Hilda and Dimitri Pre-Get Together **

Hilda: Mmm! This is great! Send my compliments to the chef!

Dimitri: ...

Hilda: Hm? Dimitri? 

Dimitri (surprise): N-nothing! I wasn't staring...!

Hilda: Ha, if you wanted to try some, you should have just asked! Say ah~!

Dimitri: We're eating the same meal!

* * *

Dimitri: Thank you for the meal, professor.

Hilda: You're enjoying this, huh?

Dimitri: Of course. Every moment spent with you and the professor is precious.

Hilda: Aww, cute!

Dimitri (surprise): W-what?!

* * *

** Hilda and Dimitri Post-Get Together **

Hilda: So, Professor, are you trying to bribe us with food? Trying to get the juicy gossip on the two of us?

Dimitri (blush): Please no! That would be much too embarrassing...!

Hilda: Ahaha!

* * *

Hilda: Gosh, it's kind of embarrassing to have the professor watching as we eat... 

Dimitri: Are you alright?

Hilda (blush): Yeah, it's just, when someone else is watching, I remember, _'oh, we're a couple now'_ and stuff...

Dimitri (blush): O...oh.

* * *

** Hilda and Dedue **

Dedue: A fine meal.

Hilda: A good chef has to have high standards... so if Dedue likes it, that means it's even tastier than I thought!

* * *

Hilda: Dedue, could you cook this?

Dedue: I might be able to.

Hilda: Wow, incredible!

* * *

** Hilda and Edelgard **

Hilda: Eating with a pair of cute girls... bet you feel lucky, don't you, Professor?

Edelgard: I wouldn't say that I'm that cute...

* * *

Edelgard: Hilda, do you like this sort of meal?

Hilda: Yeah, I do!

Edelgard: I'll keep that in mind.

Hilda: Edelgard...! You're such a nice friend...!

* * *

** Edelgard and Dimitri **

Edelgard: You seem to be enjoying yourself.

Dimitri: Of course. How could one be unhappy with good food and good company?

* * *

Edelgard: Hold your utensils properly, Dimitri!

Dimitri: Ah, how this brings back memories...

* * *

** Edelgard and Claude **

Edelgard: So, we're all eating together...

Claude: Huh? How come you sound sad about it, Princess?

Edelgard: I would have preferred if it were just the two of us (so we could talk strategy)...

Claude (surprise): U-uh, wow, poor Teach...

* * *

Edelgard: You like this sort of dish, right?

Claude: Heh, paying special attention to me, Princess?

Edelgard: Of course. I've been watching you since you caught my interest.

Claude (surprise): Guh—!!

* * *

** Claude and Dimitri **

Dimitri: I'm grateful for the chance to eat together.

Claude: Same. Let's eat and celebrate a long-lasting friendship between us!

* * *

Claude: Hypothetically, if one were to have snuck hot sauce into your food...

Dimitri: Claude. Did you.

Claude (sad): ...

* * *

** Claude and Ashe **

Claude: Say, do you think this dish could be improved with some—

Ashe: No, I don't.

Claude: I didn't even finish the question...!

* * *

Claude: Say, if I were to hire you for daily feasts...

Ashe: Would I still be able to eat with you like this?

Claude: That's a good point. There's no point in eating good food if you can't share it with good friends, huh?

* * *

** Claude and Ingrid **

Claude: Wow, Ingrid, you're really enjoying it, huh?

Ingrid: Of course! Spending time eating meals with you and the professor... it's a splendid use of my time.

Claude: I meant the food, but who am I to disagree with that sentiment?

* * *

Ingrid: Claude, you've hardly eaten anything...!

Claude: No, I think it's just that you're too fast at cleaning your plate?

* * *

** Ashe and Ingrid **

Ingrid: It's delicious! 

Ashe: I'm sure the chef would be happy with that. There's nothing better than seeing your cooking make someone smile.

* * *

Ashe: I'm grateful for the chance to eat with friends like this.

Ingrid: I feel the same way.

* * *

** Marianne and Ingrid **

Ingrid: Are you enjoying your meal, Marianne?

Marianne: Y-yes... I'm enjoying this...

* * *

Marianne: Thank you for this opportunity to share time with my friends...

Ingrid: Well, I can't speak for the professor, but my time is always yours.

* * *

**Marianne and Caspar**

Marianne: ...you're eating so much...!

Caspar: Ha, impressed? You oughta put more food in your body!

* * *

Marianne: I'm glad...

Caspar: Don't be afraid to speak up, alright? We're all pals here!

* * *

**Caspar and Sylvain (pre White Heron Cup)**

Sylvain: Oh, so you like eating, huh? Want to go out for a meal with me?

Caspar: Huh? But the professor's already giving us food.

Sylvain: ...

* * *

**(post White Heron Cup)**

Sylvain: It's nice to share a meal with a friend, huh...?

Caspar: Yeah, it's great when you can drop your act.

* * *

**Felix and Ashe**

Felix: You're rather cheerful.

Ashe: I think this is my usual amount of cheerfulness.

Felix: Hm.

* * *

Felix: You're eating rather slowly.

Ashe: Ah, I suppose I am. I was having so much fun that I almost forgot about the food.

Felix (blush): ...

Ashe: ...F...Felix? Are you alright?

Felix: Shut up.

Ashe: ?!

* * *

**Mercedes and Dedue**

Mercedes: Are you enjoying your meal, Dedue?

Dedue: Yes.

Mercedes: Wonderful!

* * *

Mercedes: I wonder, could I make this sort of dish...?

Dedue: Please do not do this alone.

Mercedes: You're so reliable, Dedue! Thank you for worrying for your culinary student so much!

Dedue: ...it's more for the kitchen's sake.

* * *

**Bernadetta and Petra**

Petra: I am looking ahead to the day I can have meat you have hunted yourself, Bernadetta.

Bernadetta: H-hey, don't get your hopes too high, okay...?

* * *

Bernadetta: Mmm! This is pretty good!

Petra: When I see that you have had liking... somehow, it brings me to smile.

Bernadetta: Wh-what? Really...?

* * *

**Hubert and Raphael**

Raphael: Alright! Let's eat!

Hubert: What an incredible appetite... to what end will you put that strength towards?

* * *

Raphael: Hubert, you gotta eat more! It's not good for you to be so skinny!

Hubert: Attempting to put me into your debt, are you?

Raphael: ...what?

* * *

**Linhardt and Ignatz**

Ignatz: ... oh, sorry, Professor, I was just lost in thought. Thinking of something I wanted to create...

Linhardt: I know that feeling quite well, though with research instead of creation. I get so absorbed, I forget to eat some days.

Ignatz: Y-you shouldn't do that!

* * *

Linhardt: A meal together with a three of us... do you enjoy spending time with green-haired intellectuals, Professor?

Ignatz: Me? An intellectual? Are you sure that's right?

Linhardt: Did I misspeak?

* * *

**Leonie and Dorothea**

Leonie: Something on my face? You've been staring.

Dorothea: Why, yes, it's your beauty I've been staring at! (...nailed it!)

Leonie: Ha, me? Beautiful? Try looking in a mirror. You're way prettier than I am.

Dorothea (surprise): ...?!

* * *

Dorothea: Wow, you, uh, really like the food, huh? (...shit, that wasn't what I meant to ask!)

Leonie: Yeah, I never would have been able to eat this where I came from. It would be a waste not to enjoy the food!

Dorothea: Ah, yeah. I can understand that well...

* * *

**Bonus scene**

"Didn't Professor Manuela say you could be a Dancer after you won the White Heron Cup?" Hilda asked from the training hall bench with Claude. "How come you never switched classes?"

Edelgard and Dimitri had been cleaning up after a sparring match between them, but, at Hilda's question, Dimitri dropped his spear.

"U-um, well, I... failed the test," Dimitri attempted.

"No, you didn't, because you were qualified before you even took the test," Claude pointed out immediately.

"Isn't a Dancer incredibly powerful on the battlefield?" Edelgard asked. "If you could revitalize your allies and encourage them..."

"Well, I guess you'd have to run around on foot a lot, though," Hilda noted. "Maybe if you could be a Dancer on a horse..."

"Oh, so wearing the Dancer clothes?" Claude asked and Hilda's eyes lit up.

"There's a special outfit?!" Hilda said excitedly, turning her eyes towards Dimitri. Dimitri gulped as she hopped off the bench and stepped towards him. "Dimitri, have you tried it on yet?! At all?!"

"N-no, er--"

"Can you show me?! I really want to see what the Dancer outfit looks like!"

"If it's just showing you the clothes, then, I... I suppose..."

"No, that won't do at all," Claude declared. "You have to wear it for us to get a sense of what a real Dancer is like!"

"Show us the pride of the competitor that defeated us both at the White Heron Cup!" Edelgard ordered.

"When did you invite yourselves into this?!" Dimitri demanded.

"Were you planning on changing your clothes and only showing Hilda?" Edelgard asked pointedly. 

"Urk--!"

"Well, it's not right to force you when you're uncomfortable..." Hilda said. "So, don't worry about it if you don't want to, Dimitri!"

"But, if you're feeling shy, can't you play dress-up for each other?" Claude asked.

"...what," Hilda replied.

"If Dimitri's not the only one showing off, it isn't as embarrassing! So, if we get Hilda in a costume too, then..."

"Where would we get something like that?" Edelgard asked as Byleth passed by.

Everyone paused.

...

"I'm not even going to question why Teach had maid outfits on them," Claude said as they were waiting for Dimitri and Hilda to emerge from the changing rooms. 

The pair emerged around the same time, and, well...

"Wow, Dimitri!" Hilda said. "You look great!"

Dimitri was completely incapable of saying anything in return, because how was he supposed to react to Hilda in a maid outfit.

"Or, should I say Your Highness?" Hilda asked. "I mean, since I'm wearing this, I might as well pay my respects! What do you think, Dimitri?"

She winked at Dimitri, and he hit his mental, emotional, and physical limits. 

"Dimitri?!" The others screamed in unison. **_"DIMITRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII--!"_**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i dedicate this chapter to the caspvain shipper. i dont know how you managed to ship a rarepair thats only a side ship in an entirely different rarepair fic but i support you.


	55. Bonus: Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> anyways catherine and shamir ARE married. they never did much and i dont think they ever got dialogue but they ARE married

**Byleth, Ashen Angel **

_Byleth retreated from history's pages after the war for reasons that are unknown to history. They have appeared only in personal accounts by their friends. From all accounts, they remained a good friend and mentor figure to those who knew them, even as they settled down into a calm and peaceful life. The name of their husband has never been recovered from any writings._

**Jeralt, The Blade Breaker**

_Having lived to see the war's conclusion, Jeralt went back to his work as a mercenary. His days of fighting came to an end, however, when Byleth came home bearing news of children. Terrified by the thought of dying before seeing his grandchildren grow up, Jeralt hung up his weapon and became a full-time teacher at the Officer's Academy. He was noted to be more comfortable with the archbishop, possibly from their... ambiguous family ties._

**Rhea, The Immaculate One**

_Rhea devoted herself to reforming the church, guiding it towards a new dawn of peace and unity alongside the rulers of Fódlan. She was noted to frequently visit the Eisner household, doting on Byleth and their husband's children much like a sister would. Or... a mother...? Or a grandmother...? _

**Ferdinand, Noblest of Nobles, & Lorenz, Noble of the Red Rose**

_The two noblemen continued their friendship well into the years, until an illness spread through the von Aegir territory. Ferdinand worked tirelessly to protect the commoners from the epidemic, Lorenz supporting him every step of the way, but the von Aegir family was left penniless by the time the disease was contained. Lorenz proposed marriage to Ferdinand, unifying their families and their funds. Their marriage elevated the art of tea to new heights._

**Petra, Queen of Brigid & Bernadetta, Ambitious Author**

_After the war ended, Bernadetta cut off all ties with her father and set off into the world, travelling along with friends before settling down in Brigid. She reunited with Petra, helping the queen with many written documents that were to be exchanged with Fódlan's officials. The two rekindled their friendship from school until it grew into love. They married, furthering the bond between Brigid and Fódlan, though their official work often cut down on Bernadetta's writing time._

** Caspar, Hotheaded General & Sylvain, Sincerest of Knights **

_True to his word, Sylvain straightened himself out after Dimitri and Hilda's marriage, moving out of his ancestral home to live closer to his guard position by the Kingdom's border. He met Caspar there, the latter having become a general under the Empire. Perhaps by fate, Caspar was also defending the Empire border. The two frequently met up after their shifts, until it became more common for Caspar to be found in Sylvain's home than his own abode._

**Ingrid, Stalwart Knight & Marianne, Smiling Survivor**

_Ingrid became a knight for the Kingdom, while Marianne became one of the Alliance's most skilled orators. During a visit to Faerghus, Ingrid was assigned to protect Marianne. Things went drastically wrong, the tale of their misadventures and escapades being captured in a book written by Brigid's Queen Consort. The veracity of this novel stands to be questioned, but marriage records show that Ingrid and Marianne truly were married, and remained so for the rest of their lives._

** Flayn, Slumbering Princess, Seteth, Ally of the Archbishop, & Manuela, Divine Songstress **

_With Rhea's reforms being enacted across all of Fódlan, Seteth quickly became swamped with work. In his times of stress, Manuela came to him with a drink and a smile, even caring for Flayn in times Seteth couldn't. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Manuela and Seteth married. It is said that the three were a happy family for many long years._

**Mercedes, Benevolent Soul & Dedue, Taciturn Devotee**

_Mercedes started up a bakery with her mother and brother in the Kingdom, serving many people. One of her most frequent customers, however, was the King's aide, Dedue. He frequently visited her, to the point that Mercedes had hot cocoa and sweets ready for him. After many years of friendship, Dedue proposed over tea. Mercedes left her bakery to her family, going with Dedue on his missions for the King, bringing her gentle kindness and generosity to people all over the continent._

**Linhardt, Sleepy Crest Scholar & Ignatz, Worldly Artist**

_After discovering the secret to removing Crests, Linhardt attempted to retreat into a very deep hibernation. Fortunately, fate would instead bring him to cross paths with Ignatz, who was visiting the Empire to learn more of the sights outside his humble home. Intrigued, Linhardt joined Ignatz on his journey, finding many research subjects along the way. Ignatz became a renowned artist, whose most famous work, The Studious Saint, depicted a partner, friend, and lover, peacefully resting amidst a pile of books._

**Hubert, Emperor's Aide & Raphael, Beast of Leicester**

_Raphael returned to his hometown, finding that his sister and grandfather had started up an inn in his absence. _ _With relations and trade between the Alliance and the Empire flourishing due to Claude and Edelgard's marriage, many Imperial faces came to their inn, most notably of all, Edelgard's close aide, Hubert. Their relationship has been documented in writings by Brigid's Queen Consort, though the manuscript is all that remains of whatever attack burnt the finished product to ashes._

**Cyril, Limitless Potential, Annette, Bloomed Overachiever, & Lysithea, Scholar of Sweets**

_Cured of her Crests, Lysithea sought to become a commoner, only to run into Annette by chance a few months before the promised meeting at Garreg Mach. The two discussed how much they had grown, only to realize that their knowledge could be passed on to the next generation. Learning of their plans at the promised meeting, Cyril passionately argued for the pair to be hired. The three of them remained close as coworkers and friends, though historians could never agree what their relationship was exactly._

**Ashe, Arrow of Justice & Felix, Sword and Shield**

_The two men were knighted under Dimitri's service, often working together in their duties. After years of partnership and friendship, Felix challenged Ashe to a duel. At that duel's conclusion, Felix threw a ring at Ashe's feet, angrily spat out a few words of love and plans for a future together, and ran off. Ashe accepted. The two of them had given rise to a tradition in Faerghus: proposals would be done via sparring matches, with the loser giving up their family name._

**Leonie, Eager Learner & Dorothea, Mystical Songstress**

_Leonie eagerly threw herself into mercenary work under Jeralt, but, when he retired, Leonie found herself out of ideas for what to do with her future. She wandered all over Fódlan, before finding her way to the Mittelfrank Opera Company. There, she found herself entranced by a certain performer's singing. Leonie became a dancer alongside Dorothea, taking to the work rather quickly. Dorothea never missed the chance to dance together with her lover, the two of them becoming known as the patron saints of rhythm and song._

**Edelgard, Flame Emperor & Claude, King of Unification**

_Together, Claude and Edelgard broke down the walls between the three nations under their rule, before setting their sights on the world at large. The two remained friends with their former classmates and companions, often relying on them to help with their goals. With his wit and her strength combined, it wasn't long until the day that they flew together on a wyvern, looking down at the incredible world that they had created alongside everyone else._

**Dimitri, Saviour King & Hilda, Delicate Flower**

_Dimitri and Hilda married, working together with the other rulers of Fódlan to bring an end to injustice in the realm. Along the way, they had inspired several traditions to do with love in their lifetimes, from cloak-sharing to merging Crests to an annual chocolate-sharing festival devoted to loved ones. The most famous depiction of them, however, is a painting hanging in the first of many artisan academies they had founded, depicting the queen dragging the king into a relaxing break._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you so much for reading this! hope you like hell!  
edit: hey, if you enjoy my writing u might enjoy this dating sim [i made](https://cowboy-starshine.itch.io/songs-and-flowers)


End file.
